


My Son

by iL0Vsuperman



Series: Building a Superfamily [5]
Category: Captain America - All Media Types, Iron Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, F/M, Family Feels, Feels, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Stony - Freeform, Superfamily, Superfamily (Marvel), Superhusbands, Superhusbands (Marvel), sooo many feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-16
Updated: 2015-04-26
Packaged: 2018-03-07 19:18:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 65,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3180104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iL0Vsuperman/pseuds/iL0Vsuperman
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve's entire life changed when he found his son. </p><p>Since then his life only seemed to get better. His best friend, Bucky, was alive and had recovered the majority of his memories. Steve married the love of his life, Tony, and despite Hydra’s actions, Peter was healthy and happy. </p><p>Steve's only concern was Peter not calling Tony “Dad."</p><p>But it all changes in the course of one day and Steve suddenly finds himself wondering if he’ll ever see his son alive again…</p><p>In conclusion to the Building a Superfamily series, Steve battles his strongest enemies, his allies, and himself all in an effort to save his son…but, in the end, will it be enough?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am finally writing the last part to this series!! It seems like a lifetime ago I started! Thank you to everyone who has followed the series since the beginning or are just starting now! :)
> 
> Now, all aboard the Feels Train!!!! It's going to be a bumpy ride!

Steve and Tony had successfully kept Peter’s identity a secret. Whenever the media referred to their boy they used the grainy cell phone pictures taken of him as a pudgy toddler. But as a skinny 6-soon to be 7-year-old child, Peter looked like he could have been anyone’s son.

Initially, when they had to decide where they were going to send Peter to kindergarten they suddenly found they had a choice.

They could send Peter to the same high-end kindergarten Tony went to but he would ultimately lose his inscrutability. To go to school as the son of Captain America and Iron Man would single him out. In addition, all of the kids and teachers would have smart phones and one of them would snap a picture of their boy and he no longer would have any hope for the normal childhood Steve always wished for him because Peter’s face would finally be known. He would have walk down the street with a holograph mask or risk being accosted by the paparazzi which was something no child should have to go through.

Or Peter could go to kindergarten as Mary’s son. No one but a select few knew Mary Parker was Peter’s mother. Steve had even given Peter his mother’s last name so Peter knew himself to be Peter Parker, not Peter Rogers as the media referred to him. Ben and May Parker had been a part of Peter’s life almost as long as Steve and Tony had been. Steve had even Ben named Peter’s godfather. They loved Peter and, if asked, would help them keep Peter’s secret.

Tony was the one who came up with the idea. He knew Steve did not want Peter’s life dictated by the media like their lives had evolved into and, ultimately, because of that, they decided to go with the second option.

The couple tried to be a part of their son’s school experience the best they could. Every morning they woke up early, had breakfast with the rest of the Avengers, made Peter lunch, and then took one of Tony’s more discreet cars to the Parkers. From there, Ben drove Peter to the local kindergarten. SHIELD had doctored Peter’s records so the school thought the deceased Mary and Richard Parker were Peter’s parents and his aunt and uncle were now his guardians.

To his teachers, Peter was not the biological son of Steve Rogers, he was just a boy who happened to share the same blue eyes as the infamous superhero like countless others. To the other students, Peter was a shy boy who did not like to play physical sports. They all thought he was sickly but, in fact, Peter had inherited all of Steve super soldier abilities including his strength and healing. Peter was at the pinnacle of health and did not play because he could break the other kids’ bones as easily as snapping a dried out twig.

Peter treated the whole experience like a game. He was playing at secret identity just like Steve or Tony did whenever they went out with him. Peter knew he could not use any of his powers or tell anyone who his father or adoptive father really was but he was already used to it.

Whenever Steve or Tony went out in public with Peter they always wore hologram masks.

It was hard at first being separated so from Peter. Steve had not left Peter’s side since he first met his son at two-years-old. It hurt hearing from Peter about his new friends that they could never meet, especially more so when he got a crush on his cubby-mate, a girl named Gwen Stacey. They could never meet the girl or any of his other kindergarten friends but that did not stop Tony from researching all of them. He probably knew more about Peter’s friends and their parents than the children knew themselves.

The school year stretched out and seemed to last forever but eventually summer came and Steve no longer had to sulk while his boy was gone. Peter would still have playdates with the children from school but Ben set them up with Steve.

Steve and Tony could not get to know Peter’s friends with the exception of the ones he made at SHILED daycare and Peter’s best friend, Harry Osborn.

Steve loved Harry but he could not stand Norman. The man was cynical and practically had no part in his own son’s life. When Tony first met Peter and found out who his mother was, he had confided he thought Mary and Richard had disappeared because Norman had scared them off. Norman was a hard man and held frighteningly aggressive grudges. Steve once overheard him on the phone with an incompetent employee and literally winced from roaring insults he threw at his underling. Tony did not like him either but put up with him originally because of the technological contract they both held and now he put up with him because of Peter’s connection to Harry.

Harry always came over to their Tower, Steve never wanted to let Peter go over to Oscorp Tower because he did not want such a negative influence in his son’s life. Norma took it as a personal insult. He never confronted Steve or Tony personally but glared daggers at them all the same.

Norman had no love for them either and none of them had seen one another since the contract he worked on with Tony ended. He had not even attended their wedding when invited, not that Steve minded.

Norman’s people brought Harry over almost every day after school and that only increased once the boys were freed from their school schedule.

That day, as Steve worked out, he paused when he heard the boys. The sound of their laughter could be heard echoing throughout the Tower and it brought a smile to Steve’s lips. He did one more rep then wiped the sweat off his forehead and got off the workout machine.

“Done already?” Bucky called from the treadmill.

“I don’t understand how you can listen to my son’s adorable laughter and not be effected,” Steve retorted and Bucky threw back his head and laughed.

Steve smirked and waved goodbye to his friend as he left. He stepped into the elevator and said, “Home, Jarvis.”

“Yes, Master Rogers,” Jarvis replied and the elevator rose.

When the doors opened, Peter and Harry’s laughter became louder and Steve’s smirk became an all-encompassing grin. He heard the familiar buzz of Peter’s toys and knew where to find the boys.

“Repulsor blast times ten!” Peter exclaimed.

“Cape block!” Harry countered.

Steve stepped into the living room to find the boys laying on the ground, their heads side-by-side and touching. Their fingers twitched on their controllers and, above their heads, flew Peter’s fully animated, fighting action figures of Thor and Iron Man.

“Replusor blast times infinity!!” Peter yelled and the tiny Iron Man’s fist glowed then punched the tiny Thor. The tiny Thor spun and hit the other toy with its hammer. The Iron Man hit the ground with a resounding crash.

“Yippie!” Harry exclaimed and the tiny Thor spun in victorious circles over their heads.

From the couch, Tony called out, “ _Thor is the winner_! If this were real life, however, Iron Man would be the winner…Right, Steve?” He added when he spotted Steve.

“Yes, honey,” Steve droned compliantly.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Tony retorted sarcastically. He tossed his tablet on the couch beside him and pushed himself up to his feet. He walked over to the smoking Iron Man toy and kicked it lightly and whistled, “Wow, you did a number on this thing…”

Harry sat up and proclaimed, “No one can defeat the mighty Thor!”

“My pops’ stronger than Thor,” Peter pouted.

“ _But he can’t fly_.”

“And Iron Man can fly and Pops does not have as awesome of uniform like me, right Petey?” Tony asked, kneeling next to the boys as Peter sat up.

“I like the red,” Peter admitted. “But I also like the blue in Pops’ uniform.”

“Sounds like we’ve got another Captain America in the making,” Tony commented dryly.

Peter rolled his eyes and said, “He’s my pops, Uncle Tony, I gonna be just as strong as him! I plan on taking his job!”

“I’m not going anywhere, Peter!” Steve replied to his son. He was going to tease him more but paused when he saw pain flicker in Tony’s eyes for the briefest of seconds. He reached out to his husband and Tony took his hand. Steve pulled him up and he looked questionably at the smaller man.

Tony shook his head, not wanting to talk about it.

Tony spun around and broke away from his hold. He said, “Alright, looks like the Mini-Mark 14 is totaled! Hand over the controller.”

Peter handed over the controller with a frown and he glared at Harry. Harry stuck his tongue out at him and Peter murmured, “Thor is so going down next time.”

Harry smirked and said, “We will see!”

“I can beat you in Mario Cart, hands down,” Peter challenged.

“You’re on!” Harry retorted. He handed his controller to Tony and both boys ran over to the television and turned on the game console. Tony rolled his eyes and switched off the Thor toy by pressing a button on the controller. The toy powered down and slowly floated back down to the ground. Tony bent down and picked up the Thor toy. Steve also bent down and picked up the remains of the Iron Man.

“Father’s Day is next week,” Tony whispered in silent explanation.

Sudden understanding washed over him and Steve lightly nudged his husband’s arm with the back of his fist to comfort him slightly without Peter’s notice. When Steve and Tony got married, Tony signed adoption papers in addition to their marriage license. In the eyes of the law, he was Peter’s father but to Peter he was still “Uncle Tony.” Tony had helped Steve raise Peter over the years and was as much Peter’s father as Steve was but Tony had only been his adoptive father almost a year and his son still did not see Tony any differently.

After their honeymoon, they sat Peter down and explained the new changes to their lives. He knew about the adoption and what it meant. They did not want to force the issue about Peter calling Tony “Dad” but now Steve wished they had at least suggested it.

“All that matters is that he loves you,” Steve murmured comfortingly as they stood up together.

“Yeah, I know,” Tony sighed. Steve held out the remains of the Iron Man toy and Tony tossed it on top of the other toy.

Steve added, “He also takes after you. When you two talk science or machines I can barely keep up.”

Tony smiled and he looked over his shoulder to where Peter sat on the couch with a new controller in his hands. Tony whispered, “He’s a smart kid. I just wish he would see himself as _my_ _kid_.”

“He will eventually,” Steve assured him.

Tony smiled warmly at him then lifted the toys up for a second. He said, “I need to take these to the lab. I will be back in a minute.”

“Wait!”

Tony paused and turned to Peter. The boy had paused the game and Harry was looking questionably at him for doing so. Peter explained in one simple question, “Can I show Harry your lab?”

Harry’s eyes widened then he looked pleadingly to Tony.

“Uhhhh, sure,” Tony said and the boys gasped excitedly. They both scrambled to their feet, wearing matching expressions of excitement. Tony asked, “But remember the golden rule?”

“You break it, you bought it,” Peter droned, having had to repeat it many times before.

“Correct, you may proceed,” Tony said, waving the boys to the elevator. Peter and Harry went racing past them. Tony whispered, “Jarvis, I want you to scan Harry. Makes sure Norman did not slip any bugs on him.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jarvis replied.

“You think this was the reason Norman is letting Harry here? To scope out your lab?” Steve questioned. Harry had been coming to the tower for years. Steve doubted Norman would keep putting any spy technology on his son if that was his original intent.  

“Better safe than sorry,” Tony retorted. He began to walk toward the elevator and Steve fell in step with him. Tony asked, “You coming too?”

“Let’s make it a family adventure,” Steve said and Tony bumped playfully into his side.

The boys were literally jumping with excitement by the time Steve and Tony stepped into the elevator.

“Jarvis?”

“My scans are complete, Sir and found nothing out of the usual. Do you wish to proceed to your lab?”

“Yes, thank you, Jarvis,” Tony replied.

“You definitely got to see the Iron Man suit,” Peter whispered to his best friend. “But you also have to see _my_ workstation, and Dummy! And U and Butterfingers! And –!”

“And let’s get there first squirt,” Tony interrupted. “I’m only going in there for a minute so that is your time limit. Use it accordingly.”

“Iron Man suit!” Harry gasped and Peter nodded excitedly in agreement.

When the doors opened, the boys shot out and, by the time Steve and Tony stepped out, the boys had already disappeared into Tony’s lab. They could hear Harry exclaim loudly and Steve knew they had reached Tony’s suit.

“Those two are mad scientists in the making,” Tony murmured proudly.

Steve grinned at his husband and whispered, “With the moves Natasha is teaching Peter, I think she would beg to differ.”

“…Peter is going to be a ninja scientist then,” Tony reasoned, making Steve laugh.

In the lab, the boys hovered beneath the suit in its glass case. Harry was jumping up and down and Peter was excitedly pointing out parts of the suit and explaining what did what.

Both boys turned to them sharply upon their entering the lab.

“Quick! To Dummy!” Peter exclaimed. He grabbed his friend and dragged him in the direction of the robot. Dummy squeaked and sped away from the boys. Peter gasped, “Wait, Dummy! We have a time limit!! I just want to show Harry the gears on you Uncle Tony let me fix!!”

The robot keep eluding them and, as Peter groaned, Harry laughed. They quickly cornered the robot and it swung the giant arm, looking between both boys.

“Dummy, stay!” Peter commanded. The robot shook then raised its arm as high as it could. Both boys followed its hand and, as the boys were distracted, the robot blasted between them and escaped.

“Dummyyyyy,” Peter groaned and he and Harry took up the chase again.

Tony walked over to his main worktable and deposited the remains of the toys on its already cluttered surface.

He leaned heavily against the counter and whispered to Steve, “I think I’m going to bulk up the Mini-Mark 15’s armor and give him real repulsors so none of the Mini Avengers can beat him!”

“Harry will never forgive you,” Steve teased. He rested against the counter next to Tony and leaned into his side. They both watched the boys chase the robot around for a moment. Peter projected annoyance in his voice but his face portrayed his true feelings of excitement.

“Dummy, halt!” Tony eventually called out and the robot came to an immediate stop. The boys almost ran into him it was so sudden.

“Right here!” Peter gasped, pointing triumphantly to the spot where Tony had helped him screw back in some larger gears.

“Awesome!” Harry gasped.

Peter stood up and grabbed his friend again. He started to drag Harry before he fully stood and Harry stumbled into the run. They ran over to the corner of the lab which Steve was very familiar. It was the corner Tony had dedicated to Steve and Peter.

Over the years, the area had changed. Originally, it was just a corner with an old couch which Tony used to crash on when he was too exhausted to go up to his apartment. Now it had a huge couch that all three of them could lounge on. Steve had claimed the area as his own and his favorite fleece blanket lay over the back of the couch. Steve’s sketchbook sat on a side table along with a cup of pencils for him to pick from. A floor lamp sat behind the side table and its bulb hung over the spot were Steve usually sketched. The wall behind the couch was covered with pictures of their huge family made up of Steve, Tony, Peter, the Avengers, and the Parkers.

Peter’s workstation sat right next to the couch and had evolved over the years too. Originally, Tony had built him a tiny fake workstation for him to play with as a toddler. Now Peter had an actual workstation. It was much larger and had tools similar to Tony’s and the ability to project interactive holograms. Odd bobbles and bits of machinery were scattered across its surface from Peter’s attempt at innovation.

Peter dragged Harry over to the workstation and picked up one of his bobbles to show his friend. The particular piece Peter picked up lit up whenever he flicked a switch. Peter excitedly explained to Harry what it did.

“Ten seconds!” Tony called out. Peter put down his invention and grabbed Harry again.

“Oh, let them play a little more,” Steve whined, loving seeing his son gush over his creation.

“It’s almost time for Harry to head home,” Tony said with a shrug. “Plus it’s already over their time limit.”

Peter dragged Harry over to the couch and excitedly exclaimed, “Look! You’re on our wall!”

Peter pointed to the picture from his birthday which Steve had snapped of both of them eating giant cake slices. Harry looked at the entire wall first starting at their picture then spanning to take the rest in.

“…Who is that?” Harry asked curiously.

Peter leaned forward following his friend’s point. Steve flushed, thinking he was pointing at Steve and Thor’s photo of both of them making odd faces at the camera.

Instead, Peter replied, “That’s my mom.”

Steve had included Mary’s picture in with the rest of them. It had seemed appropriate, if it were not for her sacrifice none of this would have been possible. Steve would have never had Peter, he would have never moved into the tower, he and Tony would not have gotten closer and eventually started dating. She was a part of their family even though Steve nor Peter had never met her.

“Your mom?” Harry gasped. He glanced back to Steve and Tony then back to the photo.

“Yeah, she died when I was a baby. Hydra killed her,” Peter explained.

“Died?” Harry exclaimed in confusion.

“Pops said Hydra only wanted me,” Peter explained with a frown. He did not like talking about the subject.

“But…” Harry looked between the picture and Peter with a pinched brow. “…But she isn’t dead.”

Steve stiffened and he heard Tony inhale sharply next to him.

“What?” Steve and Peter gasped in unison.

“I saw her at Oscorp Tower,” Harry explained with a pinched brow, looking back to the photo. He studied her image for a moment and stated, “She works for my dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bet you weren't expecting that! ;D
> 
> As always, I will post next week!


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Starting with this chapter, I will begin to use multiple POVs. With the way this story will go I will need more than Steve's POV!  
> So this chapter will begin with Steve's POV and end with Peter's! Enjoy! :)

Steve crossed the room in a matter of seconds and demanded, “Are you positive it was her? Mary Parker. Her name is Mary Parker. Is that the name of the woman who works for your dad?”

“I-I don’t know,” Harry murmured uncertainly.

“Harry, was it really her?” Peter asked, his expression awash with blank shock.

Harry nodded and murmured, “It looks just like her…she has the same haircut and glasses.”

“Jarvis, hack into Osborn’s Tower video feed and look for any signs of Mary Parker,” Tony commanded, turning to his work station.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Harry!” Tony called out to the boy as several holograms appeared in front of him. He asked, “What does she do for your father?”

Harry bit down on his lip and mumbled, “She wears a white lab coat…so science stuff. She meets with my dad a lot…”

Tony’s hands froze in their tapping and he growled, “That sonofa…”

“Pops?” Peter squeaked from beside him.

Steve looked down. He and Peter locked eyes and, without another word needed, he gathered his son into his arms and held him tightly. Peter did not complain about being picked up in front of his friend like he usually would. Instead, he wrapped his arms tightly around Steve’s neck and asked in a whisper, “Could it really be her, Pops? Are-Are you sure Hydra killed her?”

The hope in his voice made Steve wince. Peter was usually closed mouth on the topic of his mother. He had never met her but Steve knew his son ate up every little fact he could learn about her. For Peter’s sake he hoped it was true. Steve’s own heart was racing as hope billowed his chest. Could it be possible? Could Mary be alive??

He tried not to let his hope show. He did not want Peter to become infected by it and add to his own. If it ended up not being her he would be crushed.

“It is what the files said, Peter. They said she was dead so we believed them,” Steve whispered and he strode back to Tony’s side. Harry stood awkwardly where Steve left him until Steve motioned him to follow him.

“SHIELD could not find a body, they could not find any of the bodies from the experiments,” Tony stated as he expanded the said files on one of the glowing screens in front of him. To Harry, he said, “When the video feed comes up. I need you to point her out.”

“Alright,” Harry mumbled, suddenly shy.

“Sir, I have found multitudes of video with a woman fitting the description of Mary Parker. Shall I play back one with the clearest feed?”

“Go for it,” Tony clipped. Peter’s finger’s dug into Steve’s flesh. Peter was obviously distracted so was not checking his strength. Had Steve been a normal human, Peter’s grip would have crushed his throat and broken his spine.

A hologram appeared above Tony’s workstation. At first, the screen glowed white but then it flickered with an image and a brunette appeared on screen.

Peter’s hold on Steve became tighter as the woman’s image focused.

Tony, the only person in the room having known Mary Parker in real life, gasped, “Holy crap, that’s her.”

\---

Tony called Norman’s people and told them he was going to be taking Harry home.

They left Peter with Natasha and Bucky. Peter was adamantly against it and fought Bucky’s hold with all his strength. The other super soldier gritted his teeth but held onto the boy.

They needed to investigate this alone just in case this woman was an imposter and she had ulterior motives. But still, if it was his mother…they thought it best they meet in a more controlled environment. Peter’s presence would definitely complicate things…

Harry was quiet on the ride to Oscorp Tower. His gaze was turned inward and was completive. Steve tried to engage him in conversation but the boy only replied in clipped answers and clearly did not want to talk.

Steve gave up and turned forward. Tony was driving and Steve glanced at him. His husband’s hands were strangling the wheel of his car in a vicelike grip. Was all his anger direct at Norman? Did Tony suspect ulterior motives? Or was he nervous like Steve?

Steve gently reached out and put a hand over Tony’s. Tony instantly relaxed into his touch. Tony whispered, “Mary hated him, she cannot have willingly stayed there.”

Angry at Norman then, and with good reason. Did he blackmail her, threaten her, or something worse? Steve’s stomach bubbled unpleasantly as he thought of the man. He never liked Norman but was he more than a mean person? Could he have locked Mary away against her will?

“We’ll help her,” Steve stated, patting Tony’s hand. Tony nodded sharply.

Tony pulled into the Oscorp parking garage, minutes later.

Like at their tower, Osborn had a private elevator that went straight to the living quarters on top of the tower. Steve and Tony followed Harry into the lift.

“My dad…hasn’t been feeling well,” Harry cautioned. He pressed the button for the penthouse and the elevator silently rose.

“Don’t worry, we won’t stay too long. We just want to ask where Mary is,” Steve tried to assure the nervous looking boy.

Harry shook his head then stared at the sealed doors. Without looking away, he stated, “He’s scarier when he’s sick.”

Steve and Tony traded dark glances and Steve’s opinion of Norman went down another peg. Scary? What kind of emotional abuse was the man putting his son through? Once this business with Mary was settled Steve need to make a sort of intervention for the Osborns.

Harry ended up leading them to his father’s study but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the door was closed. He gasped, “We can’t go in there.”

This was a side of Harry Steve had never seen. He was quiet, scared, and looked as white as a ghost. It was nothing like the loud and bouncy kid who played with his son. Steve gently touched the boy’s shoulder and whispered, “It’s okay, we got it from here.”

Harry nodded and ran away.

“What the hell?” Tony hissed as soon as he was out of ear shot.

“Norman has _a lot_ of explaining to do…” Steve gritted then stepped forward.

The doors were not locked and swung silently inward. The room was dark with the exception of a dim glow from single lamp on the desk. The light from the hall flooded the room.

Norman was sitting at his desk, his chair was turned away from them and he was looking out at the city through the expansive windows.

“Get out, Harry, I’m busy,” Norman growled.

“You don’t look too busy,” Tony retorted. Steve saw the back of Norman’s head raise a tad then, after a short pause, he turned his chair to face them.

Norman had changed in the year since Steve had last seen him. The man used to look strong, handsome, and had been oozing with arrogance. Whatever sickness that had taken hold of him had done a number on him. Norman had aged, he was pale, and his once salon perfect hair was in a disarray. Steve would have thought him weak too until he met his eyes. The strength of his gaze revealed his unflinching determination that was the core of Oscorp’s business power. Norman may have been sick in body but he was no way weakened in his mind.

Norman glared at them and, for a second, Steve could have sworn Norman’s eyes flashed red. Norman only let his contempt show for a few seconds before he donned a mocking neutral expression. He picked up a pen and began to write something down on the papers in front of him.

Norman murmured, “I’m touched you grace me with your presence…is your son here too?”

“No, Peter is at home. This is not a surprise sleepover for the boys, we’re here for another matter,” Steve replied. He closed the doors for more privacy. Norman’s gaze did not lift from his papers but Steve saw his eyes flash with an unknown emotion then sharpen with calculation.

“And what would that be...?” Norman dawdled.

Tony stated, “We need to speak to Mary Parker.”

Norman’s pen stilled against the paper. He did not raise his head but his gaze shifted up to peer at them. He grinned, almost manically, and asked, “Mary Parker?”

“Harry said she was here,” Steve elaborated.

Norman leaned back in his chair and hummed his son’s name, “ _Harry_ …My boy is always meddling in something or other. He’s not the brightest bulb in the box either… Dr. Parker is a very private person and I don’t think she will want to see either of you.”

“She really is alive??” Steve hissed, stepping closer to Norman. Millions of questions streamed through his mind but mainly he wanted to know, why did no one know?

Norman’s grin curled and he mockingly said, “Of course she is alive, why wouldn’t she be?”

“She and Richard are listed as _dead_ ,” Tony retorted sharply, stepping beside Steve. “No one in the science community has seen either of them in years and their own family thinks her dead! What were we to think?”

Norman sighed overdramatically and put down his pen as if it were a heavy burden. He leaned into his chair’s arm and regarded them sympathetically. He stated, “Dr. Parker did not want others to know…Well, to be more specific, she did not want SHIELD to know she was alive and being that they are a spy organization that meant that no one else could know she was alive.”

“Why?” Steve gasped. Mary worked for SHIELD. They should have been the first ones to know. They might have been able to get to Peter sooner if she just stepped forward.

“You’d have to ask her,” Norman replied. “It is my employee’s business is not mine.”

“Then let us speak to her,” Tony demanded. “Where is sh-?”

“No,” Norman interrupted Tony before he could finish his second question.

“ _What_?” Tony hissed and Norman’s grin grew.

They stared incredulously at Norman and Norman stared back with an air of humor.

Then the sudden realization hit Steve like a ton of bricks, Norman was playing with them.

Steve clenched his fists, hating Norman more.

“I am not going to produce Dr. Parker just because _you_ asked,” Norman scoffed. “The doctor is a very private person and I will not bother her…especially when it is with people she does not know or…” Norman looked pointedly at Steve and his smile curled more. “Or it is with people she holds no relations with…”

With those words, Steve knew with absolute certainty that Norman knew Peter was Mary’s son. He did not know how but Norman somehow learned of it. And he was trying to use this information to not only toy with Steve and Tony but Peter as well.

Steve stalked up to the edge of the desk and growled, “Let me guess, if a family member came forward then you’d be happy to produce Mary.”

Norman’s grin twitched as if he was suppressing laughter and replied, “I don’t see any problem with that.”

Tony cursed under his breath behind Steve.

Steve never so badly wanted to throttle somebody before like he wanted to do to Norman Osborn at that very instant.

The man wanted Steve to thrust his son into a highly emotional situation. Peter dreamed of meeting his mother and Mary was unsuspecting, not knowing she would be meeting him. She did not know they were there and she might not even know Peter lived, if she remembered anything from that horrible experience in the first place…

“Is there something wrong, Captain Rogers?” Norman asked so sweetly that it was obviously dripping with contempt.

How did Norman know? It was one of SHIELD’s best kept secrets! No one but a select few knew who Peter’s real mother was and even less knew how Peter’s birth came about. Steve only found out four years ago when Peter was two and…

His mind came to a halt as he remembered a tiny fact that he thought insignificant at the time when first meeting his son. One of the adjectives, used to describe the Hydra lab that housed Peter during the first two years of his life, had originally been inconsequential because Agent Hill had used the word “abandoned” before it…but what if it had not been _abandoned_?

“ _He was in one of Hydra’s labs in an abandoned Oscorp building_ ,” Agent Hill’s voice echoed from the past.

Steve saw red and surged across the table and picked Norman up by his suit lapels. He lifted him out of his chair and half dragged him across the desk.

“Steve?!” Tony gasped and ran to his side. He grabbed his arm tightly.

Norman looked more amused than alarmed. He was completely relaxed in Steve’s hold and asked, “Why, Captain, did I hit a sore spot? I was only respecting an employee’s privacy. This woman isn’t a relation to you. You’re acting like – _heh_ _heh heh_ – like I threatened _your_ son.”

“Was it you? Were you the one who experimented on my son? Are you the one that hurt Peter??” Tony inhaled sharply and made no move to have Steve put Norman down.

Norman’s eyes narrowed and he hissed, “I would _never_ hurt that boy!”

“He was found in one of _your_ labs!” Steve countered.

“You or your husband probably did not notice but Oscorp is hanging on by a tiny thread! We’ve had to abandon dozens of labs! And a few years ago, SHIELD informed me of the Hydra infestation in several of them…I had no part causing Peter’s pain. I swear it.”

“But you _know_ ,” Steve hissed. “How do you know about Mary and Peter??”

“You did a very poor job in concealing it,” Norman retorted icily. “Your son introduced himself as Peter _Parker._ Ben Parker has dropped Harry off when you and the other Avengers are too busy fighting. Not to mention, he looks just like Mary. How could I not know? Any rookie reporter could have discovered it by now. I’m surprised it isn’t in the headlines by now!”

“Are you threatening to expose my son??” Steve hissed. He stepped back and dragged Norman with him, pulling him clear across the desk.

Norman’s eyes flashed with anger and he growled, “I would never hurt him…” His gaze became calculating again and he grinned. “But Captain, I think I just found your Achilles’ heel. I promise not to tell any of your _enemies_ …”

Steve felt sick and dropped Norman. His statement about not hurting Peter sounded sincere but the rest of it did not. For a moment, Steve imagined Peter in the hands of the Red Skull or the Mandarin and he felt like he would throw up. He stumbled back into Tony and his husband grasped him tightly.

Norman straightened his suit and stated, “I consider Peter to be a second son. The boy is close to my own son and shows remarkable genius akin to my own. I would never hurt him which is why I never told him of his mother. If you really must know, Dr. Parker blames SHIELD for what happened to her and she blames you, Captain.”

Steve felt his churning stomach plummet and he gasped, “What?”

“She thinks you are as at fault as much as Hydra in the torture they put her through.”

\---

“Peter, get down right now!” Uncle Bucky commanded.

Peter had purposely climbed up the living room ceiling in his family’s penthouse and sat at the highest point, two stories above the floor. Below him, his uncle stood, glaring up at him with his flesh and metal arms crossed over his chest.

Peter did not dignify his uncle with an answer and glared stubbornly at his bare feet.

“Don’t make me get the ladder!” Uncle Bucky yelled.

“Just leave me alone!” Peter snipped. He had been betrayed by all of them: Pops, Uncle Tony, Uncle Bucky, Aunt Tasha, all of them. _They would not let him go see his own mother!_

“Pete, get down. I ain’t leavin’ ya alone,” his uncle said, his Brooklyn accent crawled in his statement as his annoyance grew.

Peter snapped his head up and looked down at his uncle below him. He retorted, “Go ahead and leave. Pops did. Uncle Tony did. Now _you_ go, go and see _my_ _mom_!”

Uncle Bucky frowned then said, “Your pops wants to make sure it is really her then you can see her.”

“Harry wouldn’t lie,” Peter stated then stubbornly looked back down at his lap.

His uncle groaned and whispered to himself, “Why couldn’t I have lost a leg and been given a robotic engine turbine for a limb?”

“I’m not coming down,” Peter repeated.

“I know you aren’t, ya punk,” Uncle Bucky retorted with exasperation. “You are as stubborn as your _father_!”

Peter sighed deeply and sat his head heavily on his hands as his elbows stabbed themselves into the sides of his knees. All his life he had been told how much he was like his parents. Mostly he was compared to his Pops but, on the rare occasions, he was told of the qualities he shared with his late mother.

“You have her smile, her compassion, her wit, her hair, her guile, her –.”

Peter sighed heavily again and the comparisons faded away to the back of his mind.

Pops _knew_ what this meant to Peter. Pops knew how much he wanted to know about her but he still left Peter behind…

His heart squeezed painfully. He knew the adults had a rational argument but it did not matter to Peter. Pops had never betrayed Peter like that before…it hurt. It felt like Pops was taking something from him almost out of spite.

Below him, he heard his uncle get on the phone. By the tone of his voice, he knew he was speaking to Aunt Tasha. His aunt was busy calling together the rest of the Avengers together. They were all to go to the community floor to wait for his uncle and pops’ return…so Peter only had a small window to work with.

Using the skills his aunt taught him, Peter silently avoided his uncle’s notice and crawled across the ceiling to the stairwell. He noiselessly jumped onto the stairs then lightly padded up the rest of the stairs and went to his room.

He was tempted to kick over the Iron Man toy sitting on the floor but did not give into his desires for silence. Peter went into his closet and pulled out a black sweater with the Black Widow emblem on the back. He slipped it on then grabbed his Stark phone off his bed and put it in his pocket. Last but not least, he grabbed his sneakers, tied the strings together, and hung them around his neck like a scarf.

“Peter?” His uncle called out to him, finally noticing him gone. “Where are you?”

Peter quickly stepped out of his bedroom and locked the door. He yelled, “Leave me alone!” Then slammed his door closed, locking himself out of his bedroom. He jumped on the wall and crawled back onto the ceiling and went into the master bedroom, only a few doors down.

He heard his uncle come running up the stairs then test the lock to his bedroom.

“Come on, Pete, open up. Tony will never let me live it down if I break one of his doors.”

Peter did not reply but crossed the larger bedroom to the private balcony. The room smelt of the shared scent of Pops and Uncle Tony and its association with comfort eased his nerves. The sliding doors made him flinch as they hissed but his uncle did not seem to hear it as he continued to try to talk to Peter through his bedroom door.

“Master Parker, may I inquire what it is you are doing?” Jarvis asked via the speakers in phone. Peter twitched. He had factored everything but Jarvis. His first mission was foiled before it even began, what would Aunt Tasha say?

“J-Just need some fresh air, Jarvis,” Peter replied, walking toward the balcony edge.

Jarvis did not reply but Peter could feel hundreds of Jarvis’s cameras focus on him.

“Jarvis,” Peter stated when he reached the edge. He looked down the hundreds of stories below him and gulped.

“Master Parker?” Jarvis questioned, the phone vibrated slightly in his back pocket from the rise of intonation in the AI’s voice.

“Do me a favor and give me a head start,” Peter asked and then jumped off the side of the tower.

Alarms began to flare immediately.

Peter allowed himself to fall a few stories, before catching himself on the smooth glass with his fingertips. His heart was racing and he was short of breath from the plunge. He had never fallen that far before.

“Jarvis we are no longer friends!” Peter yelled then let himself drop another ten stories. He caught himself again. His heart was still hammering against his chest at its fast pace but he no longer had problems catching his breath, in fact, moving so fast was exhilarating.

“Master Parker, you are breaking dozens of protocols set up by Sir and Master Rogers. I cannot delay in telling them as it goes against my programming,” Jarvis stated from his pocket.

Peter let himself drop further and when he caught himself this time he slid down the glass several feet before coming to a stop. To Jarvis, he retorted, “Programming – _Smogramming_. When someone asks you for a favor you do it!”

Peter dropped again and when he caught himself he looked down. He was probably halfway down the tower.

“Master Parker, I have sent out the Mark 53 to retrieve you. Please, wait for the suit to pick you up.”

Overhead, Peter heard the latch open and his breath caught in his throat.

“No, Jarvis! Call it back!” Peter let go of the wall and fell twice as far, going so fast that the glass in front of him blurred and his stomach became nauseous. When he reached out to the glass in front of him, his hand caught and slid but his body also slammed into the glass, breaking it. He heard a woman scream inside but did not get to see the damage he had done as his grip slipped and he fell.

Peter went to catch himself but was caught instead by Iron Man. Peter slumped into the suit’s metal arms with a groan.

“I’m in so much trouble…”

“Sir has asked me to inform you that you are to be grounded the rest of your life,” Jarvis stated, this time, using the Iron Man suit as his speakers. Peter groaned again.

The suit flew him back to the top of the tower. Instead of landing on the balcony he had escaped from, they landed on the lower balcony on the community floor. His entire extended family was waiting for him and all of them looked angry. Uncle Bruce even had a little green tinge to his skin.

As soon as the suit landed, they surrounded him.

Aunt Tasha demanded, “What were you thinking??”

She grabbed his arms and pulled back the loose sweater to check his skin for damage then tsked when she saw it had her emblem on it.

“I just wanted to see my mom,” Peter reasoned sullenly.

“Peter, we don’t even know if it is really her,” Uncle Bruce reasoned, his voice was a little shaky.

“That was a really stupid move, kid,” Uncle Clint said with a frown and Peter flinched. Even Uncle Clint was upset. That was bad.

Peter glanced hopefully to Uncle Thor but the Norse God was also frowning. Uncle Thor grumbled, “You are not blessed with flight. You could have lost your life before it had even begun.”

Peter dropped his head. None of them understood.

“WHERE IS HE?!” Uncle Bucky demanded as he slammed open the door to the stairwell. The team parted and his uncle’s eyes focused on Peter with murderous intent.

Natasha got to her feet and whispered in warning, “ _James_ …”

Uncle Bucky stalked up to him and Peter could see his uncle’s right arm was trembling. He could tell his uncle was battling with his fragile psyche and Peter wondered how afraid he should be at that moment.

Uncle Bucky grabbed his shoulders and his fingers bit into Peter’s flesh. His uncle knelt to his level and hissed, “Don’ ya dare do anythin’ like that again! Ya hear me??”

Peter nodded adamantly and his uncle’s glare sharpened then he picked Peter off his feet and embraced him tightly.

Peter let himself be held for a few seconds then whined, “Put me down…”

“Fuck no,” his uncle growled, making Peter still. His uncle never cursed unless he was really upset. Now that he was in his uncle’s hold, he could feel the older man’s entire body was trembling, not just his arm and his pulse was racing under Peter’s ear.

“I’m okay, Uncle Bucky,” Peter whispered to try to calm his uncle.

“No,” Uncle Bucky retorted. “You are daft. We need to lock you away so you don’t hurt yourself.”

Peter sighed and wrapped his arms and legs around his uncle so it would be easier for him to hold Peter. Uncle Bucky’s mind was fragile and Peter felt guilty for stressing him so much. Peter whispered, “I’m sorry…”

“Damn right, you better be sorry,” Uncle Bucky murmured into the top of Peter’s head. Aunt Tasha lightly touched Uncle Bucky’s arm and his trembling lessened.

“Let’s get back inside,” she whispered and his uncle nodded. He carried Peter into the living room and the others followed him. His uncle began to pace and everyone but Aunt Tasha gave him his space.

“James, he is fine,” his aunt stated.

“I know,” Uncle Bucky gritted but he did not stop his pacing or release Peter. Pops once told Peter that Uncle Bucky held Peter as a last line of defense. When Peter was a toddler, and his uncle was just beginning to recover his memories, he held Peter all the time. He used Peter as an anchor and, whenever he felt himself slipping, he grabbed onto Peter.

Peter met Aunt Tasha’s eyes and smiled reassuringly at her.

Uncle Clint sat on the tips of his toes on one of the kitchen stools and watched it all with his sharp eyes. Uncle Bruce and Thor sat on the couch, Uncle Thor had a steadying hand on Uncle Bruce’s shoulder. Uncle Bruce was still a little green.

“Tony says they’re a block away,” Uncle Clint stated, looking up from his phone. He commented, “They must have been on the way home when Jarvis sent them the alert…”

“Did he say anything about Mary?” Uncle Bruce asked weakly.

Peter perked up in his uncle’s hold and looked to the archer.

Uncle Clint glanced at Peter then back to Uncle Bruce and shook his head.

Peter sighed heavily and tucked his head into the crook of Uncle Bucky’s neck. He inhaled deeply and smelled his uncle’s sharp sweat, a hint of oil from his metal arm, and a slight residue of purity from his soap. Peter took comfort from the familiar smell and closed his eyes. When he was younger, he used to be able to fall asleep in his uncle’s arms. His warmth, his scent, and the rocking of his pacing reminded Peter of those times and he felt his eyes grow heavy. He would have fallen asleep if he did not have any trepidation about his guardians’ approach.

Uncle Bucky continued his pacing and held Peter until his Pops and Uncle Tony returned.

Pops stormed into the room, looking as angry as Uncle Bucky did. Uncle Bucky jolted to a stop and Pops tore Peter out of arms. He held Peter before him, his feet dangling in the air, and looked over him. Not a second later, did Uncle Tony step beside his pops and look with Peter with such worry that it made Peter’s gut drop. Uncle Tony reached out and grasped the side of his face and his fingers dug into Peter’s scalp as he searched Peter’s face.

“Peter?” Uncle Tony gasped imploringly.

“I’m okay,” Peter whispered, not looking up so he would not have to meet either of their gazes.

“No, you are not! Why did you do that!?” Pops demanded.

“I just wanted to see her,” Peter murmured, refusing to look up.

His pops’ grip on him lessened then he drew Peter into a hug. For a moment, Peter almost pushed himself out of his pops’ hold but he stopped himself when he felt his pops’ tears.

Pops buried his face into Peter’s neck so he was the only one to know what was happening.

Peter looked to Uncle Tony and whatever expression was on his face made his uncle react the way he did.

“Everyone out right now, we need to talk to Peter privately.”

Aunt Tasha grasped Uncle Bucky tightly and drew him away. His uncle nearly tripped over his own feet, as if he wanted to stay rooted to the spot. Uncle Clint jumped off his stool as soon as the couple walked past him and followed them out. Uncle Thor helped Uncle Bruce to his feet and they were the last to leave.

As soon as they were alone, Uncle Tony embraced them both and grasped both their heads so he could touch his forehead to both of theirs.

“ _Tony_ ,” Pops hissed, grasping him tightly.

“Everything is going to be alright,” Uncle Tony whispered. His eyes were closed so Peter could have assumed the statement was meant for both of them but he had a strange feeling that it was directed more to his father. It left a bad taste in his mouth and he could not help but fearfully wonder what had happened with his mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I loved writing Peter's POV! :3
> 
> Next chapter we meet Mary and find out what happened!  
> Posting in another week!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again I am doing two POVs! I'm starting off with Steve again and ending with Mary!

Tony guided Steve to the couch and he sat down heavily. Steve adjusted Peter so he would be sitting in his lap and kept his arms wrapped around his son. Peter was silent and watching him with a keen eye. Steve could feel the worry coming of his son in waves.

 _Stupid_. He chastised himself. He quickly rubbed his eyes but it was too late, the damage was done. Peter had felt his tears and knew something was wrong.

Norman’s horrifying revelation was disturbing but when Jarvis alerted them, saying Peter had jumped of their balcony, Steve crumbled beneath the two stressors.

For a few minutes, Steve had been utterly convinced his son had killed himself.

He did not believe Jarvis when he informed them Peter had been returned safely to the tower. When Steve saw him alive and unharmed in Bucky’s arms, he could not help but shed a few tears of relief.

Yet now his son was looking at him as if he were made of fine china and the slightest movement might break him.

“It’s okay, Petey,” Steve whispered gently to his son and rubbed his back.

Tony sat next to Steve and leaned heavily into him. He rubbed Steve’s back just as he rubbed Peter’s and left his hand resting in the dip of his lower back.

Peter glanced between the two of them then lightly asked, “What happened?”

Tony sighed heavily and answered, “We were not allowed to see her because we are not ‘family’ so, before you pulled your little stunt, we called your Uncle Ben and he agreed to stop by Oscorp tomorrow. If it’s really her, he’s going to try to set up a meeting with me and Pops.”

Peter looked down with a frown and asked, “Why can’t I go too?”

Steve tensed and imagined dozens of scenarios of the meeting. In most, he saw Mary yelling horrible accusations at Steve in front of his son and them leaving with Peter never looking at him the same way again.

“You will soon,” Tony promised Peter while the hand resting on Steve’s back, dug its fingers into his flesh.

“But,” Steve said, clearing his throat. “In the meantime, you are grounded.”

“For the rest of your natural life,” Tony stated.

“And no TV, video games, phone, or internet,” Steve added.

“ _Pops_!” Peter gasped, his voice aghast.

“What did you think would happen?” Tony retorted angrily on his behalf. He had been just as worried and devastated as Steve had been when they got the alert.

“I thought I would see _my_ _mom_ ,” Peter replied stubbornly.

“How were you going to do that, Peter? Osborn’s Tower is blocks away and you have no idea if she is even in the building!”

“I was going to call Harry to have his chauffeur pick me up then Harry could have shown me where she was!” Peter retorted bitterly. Steve blinked in surprise. Peter had actually thought it out. His son was too smart for his own good. As if he heard his thoughts, Peter mumbled, “Aunt Tasha trained me to be smart about missions. I wasn’t going in without a plan.”

“And what about all the people who would have seen you crawl down the side of my tower?” Tony replied. “Would they have ignored you? _No_ , they would have taken pictures and called the news and your face would have been all over the television within the hour! And everything your pops and I have done to keep your identity a secret would have been for nothing!”

“Why do I even have to keep it a secret?!” Peter gasped. He looked from Steve to Tony and demanded, “Why can’t I tell everyone I have powers or you are all my family?? I don’t care if they know! My friends would think it’s _cool_! And I’m going to be a superhero one day too! When I get famous from that everyone would know my name anyways!”

“ _Peter, your identity is not something to be taken lightly_ ,” Steve gasped. He grasped his son’s arms and hissed, “When they thought I died, they released my identity to the world and there are so many times I wish that they did not! And it’s not just because the paparazzi get annoying sometimes, _I have enemies who can use my identity against me_. I can’t go out in public without fearing for the people with me or the strangers around me because at any moment they could be hurt because someone is attacking _me_. We don’t want that kind of life for you, Peter…”

“I don’t have enemies,” Peter muttered indignantly.

Steve grasped the side of his son’s face and whispered, “But _we_ do, Peter, and because we have enemies you do as well. Being related to us isn’t as cool as your friends would have you believe…”

Peter stubbornly crossed his arms across his chest and jutted his bottom lip out. He did not refute it. He couldn’t. Steve spoke only the hard truth.

Steve sighed heavily then enfolded him in his arms. Peter did not fight the embrace and Steve placed the side of his face on top of Peter’s head as he murmured, “It is not fair, I know, and I wish I could give you the childhood I had…”

“Minus living in poverty, the acceptable homophobia, and TB?” Tony added with a smirk and gently carded his fingers through Steve’s.

“Yes, minus all that,” Steve added, lightly squeezing his hand. Tony’s smirk drew a twitch of a smile to his lips. Even Peter smiled lightly.

Steve schooled his face back into a stern expression and said to Peter, “Promise me you will never _ever_ do something like that again.”

“Hmph,” Peter huffed.

“ _Peter_ ,” Tony said in warning.

“Fine,” Peter retorted. “I promise.”

“Now go to your room and stay there until dinner,” Steve commanded.

Peter frowned but his cheeks were red with shame from their chastising and he stiffly slipped off Steve’s lap then went to the elevator. Steve watched his every move as if he expected him to try to bolt again. He only looked away once Peter stepped into the elevator and disappeared from view.

Once he was out of earshot, Tony groaned and fell back into the couch. He murmured, “Goddamnit, I still can’t believe he jumped off the tower. _The first time he decides to use his powers out of the safety of the gym and he jumps off the top of the tower!_ If he ever tries that again I swear I am locking him in his bedroom for the rest of his life.”

“Hear, hear,” Steve mumbled in agreement and leaned back into the couch beside Tony. He wrapped his arms around his husband and Tony returned the embrace. Steve took comfort in his hold and let himself relax.

“What if Osborn wasn’t pulling our leg?” Tony whispered in Steve’s shoulder, drawing him out of his relaxed state.

“…You mean about Mary blaming me,” Steve whispered in reply. He half buried his face into Tony’s chest as his heart slowed down to a sluggish beat as if it was being dragged down by his growing fear.

“Yes,” Tony’s voice was scarcely a decibel.

“…Then we will face that hurdle when it is presented to us,” Steve whispered, not knowing how else to answer.

“What will we do about Peter?” Tony asked the question that was at the forefront of Steve’s thoughts.

Steve bit his lip and struggled to come up with an answer but was unable.

\---

Steve knew the exact moment Ben had met Mary. Not because he was a good guesser or he had calculated and measured his steps…but because his husband was one of the smartest people on the planet and hacking into all the cameras in the city just the watch Ben’s progression was an easy thing for him to do.

“I love you, I love you, I love you,” Steve gasped, bouncing in his seat.

Tony grinned and replied, “I love you too, babe. Do you want popcorn?”

“Oh God, I can’t imagine eating anything right now,” Steve replied. He was too engorged in watching Ben enter Oscorp Tower to look in Tony’s direction.

Ben look wearied and his age was showing more than usual. Learning that Mary was alive was a huge shock to him, more so when he found out she might blame Steve for what occurred.

“I’ll explain it to her,” Ben promised with a warm smile. He added, “Once both of you get to know each other, you will see, you will be great friends. She was – _is_ just as kind a person as you are, Steve…”

Steve’s fingers dug into the flesh of his knees. He hoped all Ben prophesied was true and Ben’s wisdom did not fail him now.

On the monitors, Ben went to the front desk, and asked to see Dr. Mary Parker.

He was asked to wait then, eventually, a man came out and offered to take him to her. He led Ben to the elevators then they got into one alone. Ben tried to make small talk with his guide but the younger man did not answer him.

“Osborn needs to get his people into some courtesy classes,” Tony commented dryly.

They came to a stop at the 51st floor and Tony was already pulling up screens and searching until finally –

“There!” He exclaimed and brought up another holo-screen to accompany Ben’s.

Mary looked just as she did in all the photos Ben had of her and the more recent recordings Tony had managed to get from Oscorp.

She was Steve’s age, had wispy brown hair, and wore a white lab coat like Harry had described. She was in a large lab, much like the one Bruce had, as it was built more around the biological sciences. In front of her was a black microscope and a multitude of paperwork. She peered into the scope with a frown and whatever was on the slide seemed to be troubling her.

Another woman also in a white lab coat walked into the frame and told Mary she had a visitor.

Mary’s frown deepened and she pulled away from her equipment and asked, “Who?”

Her partner shrugged and Mary’s frown deepened all the more. She said, “Show whoever it is in.”

The other woman nodded and went back to the door. Mary watched her like a hawk then tensed as the door was opened.

That tension was released when she saw Ben.

“Ben!” She gasped, taking a step toward him, then stopping herself. She looked torn between running to Ben to running away.

Ben’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. He swore, “My God. Mary, is it really you?”

Upon hearing his exclamation, Mary crossed the room and pulled Ben into a hug. She gasped, “It is! _Oh_ _God_ , I missed you, Ben!”

Ben returned the hug and gasped, “May and I have missed you like the devil but – _we thought you were dead_! What happened?” They pulled away from each other and Mary’s gaze fell and she appeared disheartened. Ben asked, “Mary?”

“It’s a long story,” she whispered.

“I don’t mind hearing it,” Ben pushed, grabbing her forearm.

Mary smile thinly then said, “Where are my manners? Ben meet my partner, Dr. Susan Calvin. Dr. Calvin, this is my brother-in-law, Ben Parker.”

Ben stepped up to the other woman and held out his hand as he said, “Nice to meet you ma’am.”

“Likewise,” the doctor replied with a coy smile. She shook his hand then said to both of them, “I will give you two some catching up time. I’m going to return to my experiment.”

Susan disappeared from view and Tony’s footage did not follow her to see where she went.

Mary and Ben stared at each other for a few seconds in silence.

Finally, Ben gasped, “You haven’t changed since the last moment I saw you.”

Mary ducked her head and murmured, “You’re being nice. I have some wrinkles that have cropped up over the years.”

“No, I’m serious, Mar. You look good.”

“ _Mar_ ,” Mary whispered fondly. “I haven’t been called that in years.”

Ben asked, “Why haven’t you contacted May or I? We listed you and Richard as dead. Where have you been all these years?”

Mary sighed heavily then sat down on the nearby lab stool. She motioned for him to sit on the other and Ben did so stiffly.

Mary looked down at her lap and said, “I’ve been here. I locked myself away in Osborn’s tower…Richard, he told you we were in SHIELD?”

“Yes,” Ben whispered.

Mary nodded then murmured, “Well, at least I don’t have to explain _that_ …All-All this happened because we were on a mission. We were _told_ that it was only a research mission. We went in thinking we would not need to fight…It’s because of that mistake they were able to kill Richard so easily…”

A crease formed between her brows and she whispered, “They destroyed his remains, took me, and listed us as MIA. Then…” She bit down on her lip and whispered, “They did things to me Ben. Cut me open, injected me with God knows what, they hurt me but the worst part was…was that it was all just so I could give birth to a monster.”

Ben paled and Steve stopped breathing.

“ _No_ ,” Tony whispered more to himself than Steve. He grasped Steve’s thigh tightly and Steve put his hand over Tony’s.

Steve would have been able to handle Mary’s hate. It would have been horrible but he would have endured it for his son. But if Mary thought of Peter as a monster…

Ben visibly gulped then said, “Mary…I know all of this already. I…I have met him, I know your son.”

Mary’s eyes widened then she gasped, “You met it?? How?”

Steve flinched at the use of “it.” He was already lamenting about having to explain to Peter he could not meet his mother. How was he going to explain this to him?

Ben took a photo out of his pocket and handed it to Mary. Mary hesitantly grasped it then looked at it blankly. Ben had showed the photo to Steve before they parted, he wanted to give it to Mary. It was from Peter’s last birthday. Steve was holding Peter in his arms, resting him on his left hip. Both of them were beaming at the camera and Peter had been laughing.

“That –?” She gasped, disbelief layered her voice.

“That is your son, Peter,” Ben stated.

“No, I saw the remains of the other fetuses. This can’t possibly be my – my –.”

Ben leaned in closer and whispered, “He is. We did the DNA tests but _look_. Look at him. Don’t you see pieces of yourself in him?”

She dropped the photo like it burned her and Ben’s shoulders dropped with it. He bent down and grunted in pain as exerted his bad knee. He picked up the picture carefully, as if the image of Peter was as precious as the boy himself.

“Peter is one of the sweetest boys I have ever met. He loves to make May laugh and he’s always asking me questions, he’s inquisitive, like you.”

Mary’s lip trembled and she gasped, “This can’t possibly be real. I know it lived but-but it-he looks so-so _human_.”

Ben lightly touched her shoulder and whispered, “This is real, Mar. Peter is real and there is nothing monstrous about him. Peter’s father wants to meet you and, eventually, Peter would like to meet you too.”

“His father?” Mary asked in confusion.

Ben pointed to Steve’s image and stated, “Steve Rogers. The people who had you, they used his sperm to impregnate you.”

“The super soldier,” Mary hissed with sudden understanding.

“ _Steve_ ,” Ben reiterated. “Steve, who had as much choice in this matter as you did. Steve who loves Peter with all of his heart. Steve who is the reason Peter is the way he is. And he did not even know of Peter’s existence until he was two-years-old. He had no idea Hydra did this to you.”

“No,” Mary hissed, rising from her stool. “Not Hydra. _It was SHIELD_. They betrayed us, killed Richard, tortured me, and tried to kill me too! And Steve Rogers works for them!”

“Not anymore,” Steve murmured indignantly. He had not worked for SHIELD since Hydra was discovered in their ranks. He and the Avengers may work with them whenever the world was in peril but they no longer took orders from them…

“Steve is not a SHIELD agent,” Ben reiterated for him and stood with Mary. “He is an Avenger. He helps everyday people and has saved the world countless times.”

“ _But_ –!”

“Mary!” Ben grasped her hands and whispered, “Please, I know this a lot to take in but Steve and Peter want you in their lives. They’re good people. And May and I want you back in ours. Please, leave this tower. Steve and the rest of the Avengers would never let anything bad happen to you. Hydra is gone. Haven’t you been watching the news? They were washed out from SHIELD years ago.”

“Ben, they’ve brainwashed you!” Mary gasped.

“No,” Ben said, shaking his head. “No, they made me a part of their family just as they want to do with you. Please, Mary. Just give them a chance. They’re good people and your son is a fantastic boy… _Please_.”

Mary’s brows were so tightly pressed that nothing could have squeezed between them. She readjusted her glasses and pulled out of Ben’s grasp. She worried her bottom lip between her teeth then turned back to Ben. She stated, “Only if it is here. Only in my lab.”

“Yes! Of course!” Ben gasped and Steve slumped into Tony’s side as his relief made him boneless.

Once the serious business was done, Ben and Mary began to talk about his and May’s lives since Mary last saw them. Most of it revolved around Peter.

At first Mary, listened but made no comments with a hard look was on her face. But then Ben mentioned Peter’s love of science and told her about his inventions and an amazing change took place. Mary’s face opened up, she actively listened, and began to ask questions. She began to refer to Peter by name or as “he.” She made no more mention of him being an “it” or a monster.

Steve took it as a good sign.

Ben was in the middle of describing a tiny robot Peter had built when the screens went blank.

“Hey,” Tony whined. He sat up and demanded, “Jarvis, where did my feed go?”

“I’m sorry, Sir,” Jarvis replied. “But it seems a powerful firewall has just been installed to Oscorp Tower’s security networks. Viewing Oscorp Tower is no longer a ‘cake walk’ as you so eloquently put it.”

“Well get me back in there,” Tony retorted.

“That may take me a few hours, Sir.”

Tony sighed heavily and said, “Never mind.” He turned to Steve and asked, “Did you see enough? I think we got the basic idea. Big bad Hydra equates to SHIELD in her mind. We probably should not try to convince her otherwise on the first date…”

Steve nodded and said, “We need to worry about making a good impression for ourselves anyways.”

Tony grinned and said, “That I can do. I will take _that_ over a super villain any day.”

\---

Mary waved until Ben Parker closed the door to the lab then her hand instantly froze in midair. In her other hand, she held the photo of Steve Rogers and Peter Parker. In front of Ben Parker she had held it with caution but now that he was gone, she crushed it.

The pleasant expression she wore melted off her face to be replaced by one of indifference. She slowly lowered her hand as she listened to his footsteps as he got further away.

“I have confirmation,” Dr. Calvin stated from across the room. “The firewalls are back up. We no longer have to play this damn charade.”

Mary wordlessly stepped over to her lab station and pushed the microscope aside. It slipped off the counter and shattered on the ground. She pushed aside some papers and revealed a monitor. It turned on and the notorious face of the Goblin appeared with a laughing grin.

“You preformed beautifully,” he stated. “They don’t suspect a thing.”

Mary inclined her head in thanks and said, “Thank you, sir.”

“Now…Shall we go over what you shall say when you meet the Captain and his husband?” The Goblin informed her more than asked.

Mary placed the crumpled photo on the desk beside the monitor. It unfurled and revealed the smiling faces of her targets. She focused on the boy’s face, so much like her own, and almost felt guilty.

 _Almost_.

“I am ready to begin phase four of the experiment, whenever you are, sir,” she replied.

The Goblin grinned and his long, pointed teeth gleamed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I leave you with another cliffhanger! >:D


	4. Chapter 4

Meeting Mary was more nerve wracking than him and Tony coming out to the public and sending Peter to his first day of school alone _combined_.

They went to her lab, like she wanted, but both of them were tense. By the way Tony’s jaw was set, Steve could tell he was gearing up for a confrontation. They tried to look in on her in the lab but the firewall was still blocking Jarvis. They had no idea how Mary had taken her talk with Ben after he left and it was nerve-racking.

Mary was waiting for them on the same stool she sat on as she sat on as she spoke with Ben. She was wearing the same lab coat and was frowning as soon as they walked in.

Silence fell over them like a heavy shroud as they stared at one another.

“H-Hello,” Steve was the first to speak and broke a silence that was beginning to grow oppressive.

“Hi,” she replied and the silence fell over them again.

“So…It’s nice to see you,” Tony interceded awkwardly. He flashed his charming smile then said, “I don’t know if you remember me, I’m Tony Stark, and this is my husband, Steve Rogers…but you probably know that.”

Mary nodded and replied, “And you know who I am, too.”

“Yes…” Tony replied slowly. He glanced between Steve and Mary then stated, “So am I going to address the elephant in the room?”

Mary’s mouth twitched, almost giving in to a smile.

Steve moved forward but she flinched back. Steve stepped back and whispered, “Mary…Mary. I-I just want you to know that what happened to you was horrible and if I could have prevented it I would have.” He saw the disbelief in her gaze and his voice dwindled as he said, “I…I’m so sorry.”

“It was really horrible,” Mary whispered, her gaze falling down. “…And you probably want to know how I survived.”

“…And we would kinda like a blood sample,” Tony murmured. “To, you know, see that it really is you…”

Mary nodded curtly and held out her hand. She asked, “I assume you have a syringe or some kind of needle to draw my blood?”

Tony withdrew the tiny device from his suit’s pocket. It was so small could have been hidden in the palm of his hand. It had a button that, when pressed, a needle would shoot out and quickly draw the needed blood. Tony handed it to Mary and she peered down at the device. It was similar to what most diabetics used to read their sugar levels except the one Tony created would check to see if the woman before them was a relation to Peter.

“Will a finger prick suffice?” She asked and Tony nodded. She pressed the boxed needle to her fingertip then pressed the button. The needle shot out then retracted just as quickly. Mary handed it back to Tony as the machine began to hum.

The machine dinged lightly and green light appeared on the box.

“Looks like I am Mary Parker,” Mary joked dryly. She sighed then looked down at her hands as she rubbed her pierced finger.

Without any urging from them, she murmured, “I remember going into labor but I do not remember the birth…They had tied me down and pumped me full of drugs. The next thing I remember is someone holding a gun to my head and pulling the trigger.” She touched the side of her head, where the injury must have occurred hidden beneath her hair, and murmured, “I later woke in a dumpster, buried beneath a pile of garbage. I was groggy but I knew I could not go to SHIELD. They were the ones that tried to kill me, and the Parkers would have been under watch to make sure they knew nothing…The only one I could trust to help me, and not to go to the police, was Osborn. And he’s let me stay here ever since…”

“We don’t have to let the horror continue,” Tony stated. “I know you don’t trust us but we are willing to do anything you want to gain that trust!”

“…And the boy?” Mary asked.

Steve stated, “Peter wants to meet you. Ben’s told Peter stories about you and has given him some of your old heirlooms. We have pictures of you in our home. You have been ingrained in Peter’s life all these years – and we want Peter to become ingrained in yours…Peter is dying to meet you.”

Mary’s gaze flickered up and she asked, “Why…did you name him Peter?”

Steve grinned and was excited by her curiosity. He dived into his explanation with enthusiasm. Tony grinned fondly at him and grasped Steve’s arm as he talked about their son.

Once he started talking he could not stop. He told her about first meeting Peter, about his son growing up, how smart he was, and how easily he made friends. He did not shy from the hard topics and also told her about Peter’s captivity in Hydra’s lab until he was two-years-old and about the powers that occurred because of it. He told her of Peter’s struggle of balancing life with the Avengers and life in the outside world with a secret identity. And he told her of Peter’s interest in meeting her and how he grew up fascinated by her ghost.

All in all, there was no confrontation. Mary was wary and did not say much so Steve did most of the talking. Tony added a few antidotes but mostly he held Steve’s hand and would squeeze it in support.

As he spoke, Mary’s expression revealed nothing and, whenever she spoke, her voice was always soft, almost a whisper.

Eventually, over an hour had passed and Steve’s voice dwindled too. The silence fell upon them again but it did not feel as oppressive as before.

“…Mary,” Tony stated, drawing both Steve’s and Mary’s eyes to him. He continued, “Mary, I like to think we were once close acquaintances, maybe even friends. You know me. We worked together in building the Cancer Genome Project.” Mary’s lips thinned and Tony eyes flickered as he noted the movement. He continued, his voice strong, “You know I would have no part in what happened in that Hydra lab and know that I would _never_ marry someone had any part in that. If you can trust me, you can trust Steve.”

“…It’s been years, Tony,” Mary replied cautiously. “Years in which you could have changed…”

Tony squeezed Steve’s hand and he assured her, “I’ve only changed for the better. With the Avengers, I am saving the world and helping people more often than I used to with charities. It’s what Peter aspires to do too.”

Mary’s brows shot up and she gasped, “He wants to be a superhero?

“Not if I can help it,” Steve murmured and, to his surprise, she smiled.

Mary commented, “From what you said, and what Ben told me, Peter sounds like he should be busy studying for a Doctorate in mechanical science not imagining what color his costume should be!”

Steve grinned and said, “When you meet him, please convince him of that. His current color scheme is red and blue.”

Mary smiled, it looked wary and tired, but she smiled all the same and replied, “I can do that.”

Steve’s chest swelled with excitement and he had to restrain himself from hugging Mary. Instead, he wrapped an arm around his husband and Tony happily returned the half hug.

\---

Jarvis took Peter’s grounding to heart and when Peter tried to turn on the TV it would not power on. Next he tried his tablet but it would not unlock. Then he tried his phone but met the same results.

“Jarvisssss,” Peter groaned.

“What’s wrong?” Uncle Bucky asked, looking up from his newspaper.

“Jarvis wants to kill me with boredom.”

“I am not trying to murder you, Master Parker,” Jarvis stated. “I am merely enforcing the new restrictions constructed by Sir.”

Peter fell onto the couch next to his uncle and did an overly dramatic flop as he landed.

Uncle Bucky chuckled then snapped his newspaper to straighten the paper and continue reading. Uncle Bucky was charged with babysitting Peter until his pops and uncle returned and had not left his side since they left. Peter bet the man would even follow him into the bathroom after the stunt he pulled yesterday.

Peter sighed heavily and waited a few seconds before asking, “Do you think they’re with her yet?”

He heard the newspaper crinkle as his uncle lowered it then Uncle Bucky replied, “Most likely…”

Peter ran his tongue across the back of his teeth then asked, “Do you think I will be able to see her soon?”

“…If it’s really her and she’s-she is agreeable,” his uncle replied carefully.

Peter rolled the word “agreeable” around in his mind for a few minutes. He picked up his head and lay it on his arms as he peered up at his uncle. Uncle Bucky was already staring at him, his eyes were studying Peter just as Peter’s were studying him. Finally, Peter asked, “Do you think she will like me?”

His uncle smiled sadly at him and replied, “She would have to be crazy if she didn’t, Peter.”

Peter smiled at his uncle but his insides churned nervously. He noted that his uncle did not say yes and wondered about her being “agreeable” again. It depressed him greatly to think his own mother would not want to see him.

 _She probably never wanted him in the first place_ …The thought made his eyes heat and he buried his face into his arms to smother any tears that might escape. Pops never hid the truth from Peter. He knew neither Pops nor his mom had wanted a child. Yet Pops loved him and reminded Peter almost daily. Pops never made him feel unwanted. But it might be a different story with his mom…

His uncle began to run his fingers through Peter’s hair repetitively. Peter was instantly soothed by his touch and calmed down.

With no technology to distract him, Peter lay on the couch beside his uncle and waited for his father and uncle’s return.

Just as he was feeling sleepy, Jarvis announced, “Sir and Master Rogers have returned.”

Peter shot up and ran to the elevator where he knew the men would come from.

As soon as the door opened, Peter exploded with questions. “Did you see her? Was it really her? What’s she like? Was she nice? Did she ask about me? Does she want to see me?”

Both Pops and Uncle Tony looked at Peter with similar expressions of bemusement then they looked at each other and exchanged grins.

“Well??” Peter demanded.

“It’s really her,” Uncle Tony stated with a smirk.

“And she is curious about you and mentioned wanting to meet you,” Pops added.

All of Peter’s fears and trepidations disappeared upon their statements. A surge of energy raced through his body and he could no longer stand still.

“Yes!” He gasped and hugged both his uncle and pops as he bounced on his feet. He squeezed Pops with all his strength, not needing to hold back, and his pops picked him up. Kicking his feet wildly with his unbridled energy Peter leaned forward in his father’s hold and asked, “What’s she like?”

Pops carried him out of the elevator and they walked back into the living room. Uncle Tony followed and smiled at Peter when he caught his eye. Uncle Bucky rose from the couch when they appeared. Pops replied, “Well we actually talked mostly about you but from what little she said I could tell she’s a smart, a little shy, but nice as well. She could have yelled at me but she never did.”

“So next time I get to see her right?” Peter asked excitedly.

Pops and Uncle Tony exchange another set of glances this time they were more secretive.

“Your pops and I are actually going to meet her again tomorrow,” Uncle Tony replied. “But we thought it best to hold off on bringing you just yet…”

Peter instantly slumped in his father’s hold and pouted, “Why?”

“We just want to make sure she’s ready to see you,” Pops murmured, running his hand over Peter’s head.

“But you said she wanted to meet me,” Peter whined.

Pops’ brows knitted together and he whispered, “We just want to make sure we are not rushing her into this. She does not remember you being born and Hydra did a lot of bad things to her…We just want to make sure she is ready…”

“I’m more than ready,” Peter retorted. He buried his face in his Pops’ chest and whispered, “I just want my mom, _Pops_. I just want to have my family, it’s all I ever dreamed about…”

Peter felt his Pops tense beneath him and he lifted his head to see what was wrong. He was going to look at Pops but was instantly distracted by the look of utter devastation on Uncle Tony’s face.

“ _Tony_ ,” his Pops gasped, his voice filled with a combination of pity and comfort, and Peter was instantly confused.

What just happened?

His uncle’s expression became stony but the pain remained in his eyes. He murmured, “Excuse me…” And turned back to the elevator.

Pops looked down at Peter and Peter was surprised to see his expression torn.

“Hand’ em over,” Uncle Bucky said, grasping Peter’s torso. He easily pulled Peter out of his pops’ grasp. Peter felt immensely baffled as he looked between his pops and Uncle Bucky with increasing misunderstanding.

“I have to go talk to…I have to talk to-to your _dad_ , Peter,” his Pops stated, as Peter settled into Uncle Bucky’s hold, and Peter’s head jerked back in surprise.

“Dad?” Peter questioned. Pops wasn’t talking about himself, was he?

“Tony _adopted_ you, Peter, he loves you, he thinks of you as his own son, and what you just said hurt him…He is _your_ dad. He is your family. I wish we pressed that upon you more,” his father sighed the last bit and shook his head dejectedly. “We’ll talk about this later…”

Pops left, following the same path Uncle Tony had taken to exit. Peter watched him leave with shock as his pops’ statement finally made sense.

He knew his uncle had adopted him but…the term “dad” seemed weird in reference to him. He never thought to use it. After Pops and Uncle Tony’s wedding, life continued as it always did with the exception of the matching Vibranium rings on their left hands.

Uncle Tony was a part of his family just as much as Pops was…Peter loved him, he would never deny that, Uncle Tony knew that…right? When Peter said he wanted his family, he meant adding his mother to it, not excluding Uncle Tony. Uncle Tony was a part of his family for as long as Peter could remember. The man raised him, helped him learn to read, and taught Peter the difference between a Phillips-head and a flathead screwdriver by the time he was three.

Peter bit down on his lip upon the reflections. He never saw what Uncle Tony had been doing as fatherly until now. Guilt instantly weighed heavily upon his shoulders.

“Uncle Bucky…Can I go see…my-my fathers?” Peter stated the plural patriarchal term carefully as he cautiously tested it out.

Uncle Bucky smiled and let him slide out of his arms. He stated, “Go on then and be sure to tell Tony you are sorry.”

Peter nodded and could not help but feel a pang of guilt in reference to Uncle Tony – to his “dad.” So much time had passed since he had adopted Peter and he had been calling him “Uncle” since then. As he made his way to the elevator, he thought of the role Uncle Tony had played in his life and how much it mirrored that of his pops.

Peter had a second parent all along and he never realized it…

He had to wait for the elevator since his pops had used it to go after his uncle…He paused in the line of thinking and corrected himself. Pops had used the elevator to go after _Dad_.

He pictured the man in question and mentally repeated the term silently to himself as if to ingrain it into his memory. _Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad…_

Jarvis knew where he wanted to go so when the doors opened Peter did not have to say anything, the elevator moved on its own. He went down and he guessed he was being taken to the workshop.

When the doors opened, Peter cautiously stepped out into the dark corridor and walked over to the sealed door of his _dad’s_ lab. Uncle Bruce’s door was across from it and sealed as always.

Peter inputted the code and the door opened.

There was murmuring in the room until he made his entrance. Peter stepped in and saw both of the men he was looking for sitting on the couch in the corner of the workshop.

Pops got to his feet and asked, “Peter?”

As soon as he caught sight of his dad’s expression, Peter’s lower lip wobbled and then he ran across the room and into his dad’s arms. His dad automatically wrapped his arms around him and whispered in surprise, “Peter?”

Peter gasped, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make it sound like you weren’t a part of my family! You’ve always been my family! _You and Pops_!”

Dad returned the hug by holding him closely and rubbing his back. He whispered, “I know, buddy. I know…”

“C-Can I call you Dad?” Peter asked. In his mind, the term was already in use and had ingrained itself with ease as if it was always made to be there.

Peter felt his dad twitch and then tighten his arms around Peter.

“O-Of course, Peter,” Dad gargled with emotion. He buried his face into Peter’s hair and repeated, “Of course…”

\---

Steve and Tony’s second meeting went much differently than their first.

Firstly, they approached it differently. Tony was in high spirits and had spent the night prior talking in the third-person. Saying things like: “Dad is now sitting on the couch” or “Dad is leaving the room.” It drove both Peter and Steve up the wall.

“Dad is in the mood for an expresso,” Tony murmured as Happy drove them to Oscorp Tower. They sat next to each other in the back of the Bentley and Tony had been playing with Steve’s fingers, carding them in and out of his grasp when he finally spoke up.

Steve groaned, “Pops is going to strangle Dad soon if he continues.”

Tony laughed and leaned into his side saying, “Pops would never hurt Dad. Additionally, _our_ son would be very upset if _his_ dad was hurt.”

Steve shook his head then leaned back in his seat and stared at Tony with a happy smile. He asked his husband, “Speaking of _our_ son, are you still worried about Father’s Day?”

To which, Tony grinned and replied, “I’m just hoping he makes two cards because if he gives us only one I am stealing it and hording it in my workshop…”

Steve smothered a chuckle then mockingly gasped, “Tony! What happened? You just spoke in first-person??”

“Oh shush, Capsicle. I am going to be in an amazing mood the rest of the week, you better get used to it. _Dad_ cannot be stopped.”

Steve muffled another chuckle and happily wrapped an arm around Tony’s shoulder. His husband leaned into his chest with a happy sigh.

Another way the meeting was different was their topic of choice. Instead of focusing on Peter, they decided to focus on the three of them: Steve, Tony, and Mary. They thought it best to mend broken bridges and create a relationship with Mary, especially if she really did want a part in Peter’s life.

Yet Mary was not interested in reminiscing about the past nor was she interested in talking about her current life.

It was awkward to say in the least.

Steve and Tony did most of the talking and it was about their lives and experiences. They gave her ample opportunities to jump in but she stubbornly remained silent. It was peculiar but Steve reasoned this was still a lot for her to take in. She had only just learned of Peter’s existence yesterday. She must still be traumatized by that.

As they were readying to go, Tony asked, “So would you like to meet again tomorrow? We can bring you some coffee? Meet here again?”

Mary cocked her head to the side then carefully asked, “Will Peter be coming?”

Steve and Tony exchanged shocked glances. Mary seemed to be tolerating their attentions today and yesterday she could barely believe Peter existed. Steve nervously chewed his lip. Tony nodded, giving him the go-ahead with the answer.

“…Maybe another time,” Steve replied.

His retort caused the next major difference in their meeting: her anger.

“What??” Mary hissed. Her face twisted into something ugly and it immediately had Steve on the defensive. He automatically moved into a fighting stance but as soon as he realized what he had done, he made himself relax.

“Do you want to meet Peter?” Steve asked cautiously. Steve assumed he would have to cajole her into a meeting. Her anger was a surprise and unnerving…

Mary’s steely eyes slid from Steve to Tony and the lack of emotion in her gaze made Steve want to take back his question. He saw something in her eyes that was off. It was the same crazed glint he had seen in many super villains’ eyes.

Before she could retort, Steve said, “Maybe we should hold off on it.”

“…Yeah, um, anyways I think I left the coffee pot on in the lab,” Tony murmured. “We should be heading out, Mary…”

Mary glared at them, making Steve’s already uneasy stomach clench even tighter.

“So coffee tomorrow?” Tony asked her. Her eyes narrowed and she nodded curtly.

“Okay good,” Steve replied with a nervous laugh, “We’ll see you then.”

She nodded curtly and they took it as their dismissal. He and Tony left.

As soon as they were in the elevator and the doors sealed behind them Tony gasped, “Holy Crap! What was that??”

“Mary was a little upset,” Steve murmured and pressed the button for the first level of the garage.

“More than a little! She was fuming! What the hell changed?? She originally wanted nothing to do with Peter!” Tony asked him with a scandalized look.

Steve bit the inside of his cheek then decided to go with his gut feeling. He asked, “Do you still have Mary’s blood sample?”

“…Yeah. Why?”

“We should have Bruce take a better look at it,” Steve stated.

“Do you think that it’s not really her?” Tony gasped.

Steve pursed his lips then said, “I don’t know what to think…But maybe Hydra did something to her too and that’s why she is still alive. She might Hulk out like Bruce and I want to know if that is the case before I let her near our son…”

\---

“ _Damn it_!” Mary growled, slamming her fist down onto the nearest lab table and the metal surface collapsed under her fist.

Dr. Calvin looked up sharply from her desk and hissed, “Control your temper! Your emotions are only to be used to convince the targets of your sincerity!”

She forced herself to calm down then smoothed back her hair. To the doctor, she commented, “He’s is not going to be thrilled.”

Calvin rolled her eyes and asked, “Is he ever?”

Mary sat down at her desk. The monitor was already on and, just as she predicted, the Goblin did not look pleased.

“The boy was supposed to come with them tomorrow,” he growled.

“I need more time with them,” Mary reasoned.

“No,” the Goblin hissed. “Last year, when I broke into Stark’s lab to get samples of the boy’s DNA, I was promised to see results in a matter of months but here we are…No, closer than we had started. I want what I paid for…”

“Sir, I just need a little more –.”

“No,” the Goblin growled, his eyes glowed red in the dark room. His hissed, “It is time for the Goblin to make his move now. Your silly scheme is at an end.”

\---

Steve and Tony went to their son first when they returned to the tower. This time they left him in the care of Clint so Steve was not too surprised when they found Peter testing out the miniature crossbow he made with a pen, some paper clips, and a rubber band.

Peter’s face happy expression fell off almost as soon as he saw them. He read them almost as well as they read him. Peter sadly whispered, “So I guess I’m not seeing her…”

“Soon,” Steve promised, wishing he could wipe away that expression from Peter’s face. “Your dad and I just need to confirm something with Uncle Bruce first, were going to meet her one more time for coffee, and then you can meet her. It’s going to happen soon, Peter.”

Peter shrugged in reply but his stormy eyes spoke well enough what he was thinking.

Steve lightly sighed then kissed the top of his head.

“Dad and I are going to go to Uncle Bruce now. Are you alright staying with Uncle Clint?” Peter nodded sullenly and Steve ran his hand through his hair. He murmured, “I promise Peter, it will be soon…” He and Tony stepped back into the elevator.

Peter was still upset but he smiled all the same and waved goodbye. Steve smiled as he waved too.

\---

Later that night, Steve would look back on that moment and wish he had focused on his son’s smile more.

Then maybe he would have had at least one more precious memory of Peter before he was gone...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am abusing my cliff-hanger powers, I fear every chapter may end thus... 
> 
> So, needless to say, lot's of angsty stuff happening next chapter! I will post in another week! Thanks for reading! :3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before the Goblin is properly introduced I just wanted to make it clear that the Goblin in this fic is not the Goblin seen in any of the Spider-man movies. This one is based off the Goblin from the Ultimate Spider-man comics in both his appearance and convictions. 
> 
> Plus, since in the last chapter Peter endeavored to no longer refer to Tony as "Uncle Tony" but "Dad" he will be doing this in this chapter! So "Dad" = Tony and "Pops" = Steve.
> 
> I think that's it... enjoy! :D

Bruce had just placed Mary’s blood sample into his processor when the entire tower shook.

Alarms started blaring immediately. Steve, Tony, and Bruce all stared at one another in shock.

“Sir, the tower is under attack,” Jarvis informed them as the tower shook with another rumble. “It is being done by a group of super humans…From the few I have been able to scan, it seems these are what remains of the detainees who escaped SHIELD last year.”

Steve clenched his fists and asked, “Where’s Peter??”

“Master Barton is following protocol and is bringing him down to the sublevels,” Jarvis replied. “The tower’s outer defense system has kept them out of the building so far.”

Steve inhaled deeply then made himself snap into form. He commanded, “Tony get into your armor and get out there. I need to know what we’re facing. Bruce, we’re going to need the Hulk, if these are really the SHIELD escapees then there are some heavy hitters out there. And Jarvis please let us know as soon as Peter is in the safe room.

“Yes, Master Rogers.”

“Alright, Avengers, move out!” Steve yelled. He and Tony ran to his lab where Tony’s suit was and Steve’s uniform and shield were. Bruce went to the elevator and was already beginning to look green.

The tower did not stop shaking the minutes it took Steve and Tony to get ready. As Steve was changing into his uniform he was talking to the rest of the Avengers over his communicator and SHIELD as well.

Thor had been getting lunch at a deli when the tower was attacked but was flying back now and would be with them in minutes. Natasha and Bucky were already outside fighting and Clint was joining them, having successfully delivered Peter to the safe room. Steve called Peter last once he knew everyone was doing what they were supposed to do.

He wrapped his arm around Iron Man’s waist and they flew up the tunnel to the outside. In his ear, he heard his son ask, “Pops?”

“I’m here, Petey,” Steve said. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, but I can’t believe this is happening! Who would attack the _Avengers_??”

“Some really bad guys, but we are going to take care of them,” Steve promised. He and Tony hit the open air and Steve looked down at the scene in the pause in conversation. There must have been at least twenty men and women attacking them. Most were on the ground but they had a few fliers as well.

“Take me to the ground, Tony, you and Thor should be able to handle the ones in the air,” Steve murmured to his husband.

“Roger, Cap,” Tony retorted and they flew down.

To Peter, Steve said, “I have to fight now, Peter. Your dad and I love you, stay safe.”

“Love you too, Pops. Kick some butt!”

Steve grinned, replied, “On it,” and then cut the transmission.

Explosions were going off all along the towers body. Steve jumped from Tony’s hold and attacked the first aggressor he came across. As he fought, he could not help but be reminded of the Chitauri attack. He compared the people he fought with to the aliens. Some were more easily defeated whereas others put up a better fight in comparison to the aliens. This fight, however, was both luckily and unluckily only centered around their Tower. The rest of New York was safe but their home was being destroyed.

The outer defenses no longer held and the fight was being dragged inside. In his ear, Jarvis relayed the alarming numbers of breaches in a constant flow.

“ _You_!”

Steve just knocked out an inmate, after the man had dragged him into the Tower. But this new voice was filled with so much loathing that Steve turned around with his shield raised, expecting immediate trouble.

On the remains of the floor above him, was an enormous green monster. The SHIELD title for it came to him immediately. “Goblin,” was definitely an appropriate descriptor.

It had to once be a man. He had the correct torso, two legs, and arms but that was where the similarities ended. The muscles on this creature were even larger than Steve’s and he had to be over seven feet tall. With all the muscles, he had to weigh hundreds of pounds. He was probably thrice the weight of Steve.

His eyes were glowing red and a number of horns jutted from his scalp. On the ends of his hands he had jagged claws. He raised one of those hands and pointed it accusingly at Steve.

“Where is Peter?” The beast demanded with a growl. Steve inhaled sharply upon the mentioning of his son’s name and a shiver ran down his spine.

“What?” Steve hissed.

The Goblin jumped from his ledge and landed in front of Steve. The ground beneath him crumbled underneath his weight in a circular crater. The Goblin stood and hissed, “The boy is mine and I want him back.”

Steve stared blankly at the creature, its words were too insane to be true.

“ _My_ _son_ is–,” Steve began in a hiss.

“No,” the Goblin interrupted. He stepped closer to Steve, his height made him look down at Steve. Steve adjusted his shield according, waiting for an attack. Then the Goblin sneered, “The boy is _my_ _son_.”

Steve entire body jolted from the shocking statement. He stomach churned nervously as he regarded this powerful beast and he feared for Peter. What if this thing had gotten a hold of him?

Steve’s brows knit together and he growled, “ _You’re insane_. Why on Earth would you think him your son?”

The Goblin threw back his head and laughed. Steve warily watched him, waiting for him to attack but the Goblin seemed to be in a talking mood. The Goblin sneered, “If it were not for me, the boy would not be alive and he would not have been gifted with such amazing powers. I gamma-radiated the Arachnid DNA myself. For as long as he lives, the boy will always be _m-_.”

Steve did not give the Goblin a chance to finish the statement and launched himself at the monster. He did pause to consider the facts. He did not wonder if it was really the Goblin behind Peter and his other departed children’s experimentations. He heard the monster admit to it and it insistently called Peter _his_ son even after what he did to him.

It was enough to make Steve see red.

\---

Peter’s bunker was a small room with a bunk bed, a fridge, and a complete entertainment system. Peter was sitting on the top bunk and was wringing his hands together as he watched the news. He had watched his family fight dozens of times before but usually one of them stayed behind with him…and never before was their home attacked.

The news footage was not much. It was shot from far away and mostly focused on his dad and Uncle Thor. He saw no signs of how the rest of his family was fairing and it made Peter worried. He usually listened in on the fight indirectly through the communicator of whoever was with him but, being alone meant he did not have access to one of the Avengers or their communicators…

“Jarvis?” Peter asked tentatively. “Is everyone okay?”

“All the Avengers have sustained minor injuries but nothing catastrophic, Master Parker,” Jarvis replied promptly. Peter nodded, expecting as much. No matter how strong they were they could still get hurt.

Peter’s eyes returned to the television and he watched his dad fly around the tower, blasting at the enemy with his repulsors.

Peter was maybe in the safe room for another ten minutes before it was destroyed.

He had no warning. One moment, he was watching TV, and the next, he was clutching the wall as something ran through the room barreling through one wall and out the other.

Only when the rubble had settled and the man who broke the walls was seemingly gone, did Peter gasp, “What was that??”

“It appeared to be a man in a giant rhinoceros costume,” Jarvis replied. “Master Parker, you are no longer safe. I am notifying the Avengers and I am sure one of them will come to assist you.”

Peter jumped off the wall and onto the rumble on the floor. He checked his pocket to make sure his phone was still there then, after looking at the remains of the room and deciding enough time had passed, he asked Jarvis, “Have they decided who’s picking me up?”

“It is I,” Uncle Thor announced as he swooped in through the newly made hole. He held out his hand to him and said, “Come, Peter.”

Peter leapt from the rubble and into his uncle’s arms. All the uneasiness he felt by being alone vanished as soon as he was in the safety of his uncle’s hold.

Uncle Thor lifted his hammer and then they were flying through the air. It was different than flying with his dad. With the Iron Man suit, the wind was cold and pushed at Peter with meandering currents. With Uncle Thor, it seemed like the air parted for them and held them in a warm embrace. They were quick to fly away from the tower and the battle in its midst.

Uncle Thor paused several blocks away, floating above the skyscraper, and surveyed the area. Peter took the opportunity to asked, “Where are we going to go?”

“Originally with the Parkers, but Lady May is out and does not have a phone. And Ben is at work and ‘on a job.’ The Man of Iron is trying to contact him,” Uncle Thor replied.

“So where are we going to go right now?” Peter asked.

A large explosion bloomed from the side of the Avenger’s Tower and Peter gripped his uncle’s side tighter.

Uncle Thor cursed something under his breath in Asgardian. The curse was directed at the Tower and Peter was glad it was not because of his slip in strength. The Norse God probably did not even notice Peter’s squeezing him tighter than necessary.

Peter forced his grip to relax and, as he watched the flames die down, his heartbeat began to pound loudly in his eardrums. He could hear his uncle’s communicator as it buzzed loudly but indiscriminately with the rest of his family’s voices. Their voices were loud and frantic.

“You need to help them,” Peter whispered. Uncle Thor looked at Peter with a troubled expression. Peter turned his head to the east and said, “Take me to Oscorp. I can hang with Harry until you guys are done.”

Uncle Thor looked to the tower, several blocks away and clear from the fighting.

“The Young Osborn,” Uncle Thor murmured with recognition. “But what of supervision? Your parents do not like to leave you alone without elders.”

“Harry’s dad is probably somewhere in the tower and there’s probably a maid or something in the penthouse too…But if you’re still not sure why don’t you ask them?”

Thor raised a single hand to his ear and asked, “Have we had any word of the Parkers?”

Peter leaned in, with his ear right next to Thor’s communicator, and heard his dad reply, “No.”

“Peter suggested I take him to stay with the Young Osborn until the fight is over.”

“That’s fine; but tell him to keep his phone on him and if there is any sign of danger to tell Jarvis,” Dad retorted.

Uncle Thor glanced at Peter and saw that he had heard. Uncle Thor nodded then flew him to the Oscorp Tower without pause. As he dropped him off on top of the tower he asked, “Are you certain, Peter?”

Peter nodded and said, “I’ll be fine.” Peter waved his phone which he had just texted Harry with and explained, “Harry is going to be up here any minute to let me in.”

His uncle nodded then pointed his hammer toward the Tower and was shot in the direction of the battle. Peter watched him go then looked to the fighting at the skyscraper’s base. He was too far away to differentiate between the quarreling figures.

He spoke into his phone, “Jarvis? Is everyone still doing alright?”

“Yes, Master Parker.”

“…Good.” Peter closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He tried to make himself calm down but his heart continued to race. Originally, it was because of his fear of the attack, now, it was because of his apprehension of meeting his mother.

He knew his family was going to be fine. The Avengers always won in the end. At that moment, his mother was in the same tower as he was and Peter was not going to overlook this opportunity to meet her.

“Peter!”

Peter turned and saw Harry waiting for him at the exit door to the roof. Peter ran over to him and, as he slowed down, Harry asked, “Why are you here? Don’t you usually go to your Uncle Ben’s when the Avengers are fighting?”

Peter shrugged and said, “My Uncle Ben is at work and my dad couldn’t reach him. Harry, do you know where my mom is…?”

He stepped past Harry and Harry closed the door behind him. His friend’s eyes widened a fraction then rolled with exasperation. Harry said sarcastically, “Jeez, nice to see you too, Peter.”

They went down the stairs, side-by-side, and Peter said, “She’s my _mom_ , Harry. I want to see her! My parents keep pushing back our meeting…If you got a chance to see your mom again, wouldn’t you take it?”

Harry had reached out to open the door to the penthouse but he stilled upon Peter’s question. Harry frowned at his hand then looked to Peter with a complex expression.

Harry’s mom died a few years after he was born. Harry confided that after she died his father was never the same. He could barely remember her but he missed her all the same.

“You would, wouldn’t you?” Peter clarified.

Harry sighed and said, “Yes…Yes, I would…”

\---

Peter stood in front the lab door for several minutes as his nerves battled with his bravery.

He had shooed Harry away, wanting to see his mother alone, but now that he was alone, he was scared. What if she did not like him?

He closed his eyes, thought of his collective family’s bravery, and tried to take as much courage as he could from that. He was the son of superheroes. He could do something as simple as saying “hello” to his mom.

Peter pushed open the door and stepped into the lab.

Two women stood together on one side of the lab, watching the news through a computer. They both looked up upon his entrance and Peter saw recognition and shock flicker through both of their gazes.

Peter’s eyes instantly focused on the woman he knew to be his mother. In the flesh, there was so much more to her than what a photo or video could ever show. She was shorter than he had imagined and her skin was paler. Since the only times he saw her before now was via photographs, he always imagined her to be smiling but no smile donned her features currently.

“P-Peter?” His mother gasped as if she did not believe him to really be there. Her eyes flickered to her partner then back to him.

“I will get it,” the other woman whispered to his mom then hurried across the room.

Peter ignored the other woman and rubbed the back of his head to try to comfort himself and brush away the sudden surge of bashfulness. He ducked his head to hide the flush growing on his cheeks and kicked absently at the ground. He murmured, “Yeah, it’s me…” He paused then remembered his manners and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He gulped then ducked his head again. He was afraid to look at her and see her reaction. Uncle Bucky’s words flashed through his mind and he wondered if she was “agreeable.” All his thoughts became focused on one idea that repeated like a mantra in his head: _Please like me, please like me, please like me –_

“How did you get here?” She gasped. She looked beyond him to the door closed behind him and asked, “Are Rogers or Stark with you?”

Hearing his fathers’ surnames on her lips seemed so strange and drew Peter’s gaze back up. Why didn’t she call them by their first names?

“Uncle Thor brought me here to wait with Harry until the fight was done,” Peter explained. “And since I was here, I thought I’d come see you…if that’s alright?”

She smiled and it made Peter’s heart flutter. Finally a sign, she was happy that he came.

It was at that moment, Peter felt the sickening tingling at the back of his neck and his heart lurched.

Peter’s family had protected him from all sorts of danger throughout his life but there was a period when he was not under their watchful care. Peter may not remember the first years of his life but he could never forget what that tingling sensation meant.

“Something’s wrong,” Peter gasped, his hair was starting to stand on end and his entire body was tense. Could the fight be moving in their direction?

His mother glanced to the other woman in the room. Peter, never got her name but she wore a white coat matching his mother’s and had dark hair. She was pulling a sealed cylinder out of what looked like a freezer.

“Come here, Peter,” his mother called and he did as she asked and sprinted to her side but every step made the tingling worse.

Something was _very_ wrong. Was there some kind of dastardly villain headed their way? Or was his mother’s lab going to explode?

He grabbed her arm and hissed, “We need to get out of here!”

“Not just yet, Peter,” his mother murmured, glancing to the other woman.

“I don’t know if Pops told you but I have this power to sense when something bad is going to happen to me and it’s going off right _now_!”

The other woman walked toward them with the cylinder and goosebumps rose on all of Peter’s exposed skin. His eyes focused on the cylinder and it clicked in his head.

Without breaking his gaze from the cylinder, he whispered, “What is that?”

“It’s okay, Peter,” his mom cajoled.

The other woman stepped beside his mom then knelt in front of Peter to his level. She began to unscrew the cylinder and all of Peter’s senses were screaming at him to run away as fast as he could. _But he could not, not without his mom_.

“It’s alright, Peter,” the dark haired woman whispered fervently. “Your father wanted me to give this to you.”

Peter peered fearfully at the cylinder and asked, “Pops?” Or was it Dad? Why would either want to give Peter such a dangerous thing…Whatever it was, did they not know it was dangerous?

“No, not Rogers or Stark, your real father, the one who blessed you with your amazing abilities,” his mom stated.

Peter went to take a step back and his mother’s hand shot out and grabbed his arm. Peter yelped when her grip bit painfully into his forearm. _It was not possible_. She was supposed to be normal. She did not have superpowers. She should not be able to hurt him.

“Your father made this especially for you, Peter,” the dark haired woman continued. She carefully removed the cap to the cylinder and whispered, “He wanted you to reach your full potential…”

Peter did not know what to expect. When she opened it, he flinched back but nothing happened. He cautiously peered inside the cylinder and only saw darkness. There did not seem to be any threat but his senses were still going haywire with dire warning.

He took a wary step forward, to better see the contents, and those dark contents exploded, enveloping Peter in its dark embrace.

\---

Steve and the Goblin were matched in strength but the beast was intelligent and used its wiles to trick Steve to gain the upper hand at some points in their fight. Yet Steve had experience in fighting, which the Goblin clearly did not and, most importantly, Steve was fighting on behalf of his son. The Goblin was insane and would not stop laughing or making the insertion that Peter was his son, not Steve’s.

Around him, the Avengers held off the rest of the perpetrators, leaving them to spar only themselves. Not long after Thor dropped Peter off at Oscorp Tower, SHIELD joined the fight and the rest of the combatants were rounded up quickly with the exception of the Goblin.

But, as they fought Jarvis suddenly spoke up in his ear via the communicator.

“Master Parker needs to be retrieved immediately.”

Steve was instantly distracted by the gravity in the AI’s voice and the Goblin was able to punch him across the face.

“What’s wrong, Jarvis?” Tony demanded within a heartbeat over the feed.

“The blood sample of Mary Parker has finished processing. Sir’s original test verified the blood sample was a relation to Master Parker. The blood sample still showed being a relation of Master Parker because the sample _is Master Parker’s_. This alone is suspicious but it also showed traces of DNA of the known criminal: the Chameleon. That person is not Master Parker’s mother and is currently in the same building as him.”

“I’m going right now,” Tony growled.

“Wait!” Steve hissed. He punched back the Goblin and ordered, “Thor! Take my place. I am going with Iron Man!”

Thor did not question his orders and flew in. He slammed down his hammer between them, making the Goblin jump back from Steve. Tony swooped in, grabbed Steve, and they went blasting in the direction of Oscorp Tower.

“COWARD!” The Goblin screamed after Steve and Thor silenced him with a swing of his hammer.

They reached Oscorp Tower in less than thirty seconds. Steve commanded, “You get Peter out of there and I’ll take care of ‘ _Mary_.’”

“Want the direct approach?” Tony asked.

“Please,” Steve growled.

Tony flew him level with Mary’s floor and Steve swung from his hold and crashed through the glass. He rolled into the landing and stood in the hallway he and Tony had twice crossed to get to Mary’s lab.

He gritted his teeth. He should stop referring to the Chameleon as Mary. It was an insult to her memory. The Chameleon had already tarnished it enough by taking her guise.

Steve was angry and uneasy by the fact that Peter had been so close to the Chameleon. Steve could not believe that he had almost brought Peter to meet the villain in disguise! What was the Chameleon’s endgame?? First he impersonated Steve and now Mary. Why?

Despite his high emotions, Steve’s heartbeat was steady as he stalked toward the lab. Compared to the Goblin, the Chameleon would be no match for Steve.

Then he heard his son scream within the lab.

Steve’s heart all but burst out of his chest and he sprinted the rest of the way to the lab. What was Peter doing in there? What did the Chameleon do to him??

He burst into the lab and broke the door off its hinges as he slammed it open.

Peter stood a few feet away from him, fighting a black mass from totally covering his body. The Chameleon, still in Mary’s guise, and Dr. Calvin stood off to the side and impassively watched.

Steve dropped his shield, pushed the women aside, and then went to help Peter in tearing the dark substance off him.

The black mass was warm but as tough as rubber and no matter how far he pulled it away from his son, it did not release its hold on Peter.

Steve looked over his shoulder to where he pushed the women aside and begged, “What is this?? How do we stop it?!”

They were both sitting where they fell and Dr. Calvin calmly replied, “There is no stopping Peter’s evolution.”

Steve’s heart caught in his throat and he turned back to Peter and tore at the substance with a renew vigor.

“ _Pops! Get it off! Get it off_!” Peter shrieked. Tears were streaming from his eyes in an endless flood and he looked absolutely terrified as he pushed at the black mass in vain.

“I’m here, Peter,” Steve gasped frantically. It was up to his son’s chest but did not seem to restrict his son’s rapid breathing. “We’re going to get you out of this!” Steve raised one hand to his ear piece and screamed into his communicator, “TONY GET DOWN HERE NOW!”

His hand shot away from his ear and tore at the thing swallowing Peter.

“Steve?!” Tony gasped, his voice was instantly alarmed by the terror in Steve’s voice.

“What’s going on?” Clint demanded. The rest of the team would have heard him over the communicator.

“CAP?” Bucky called.

“ _Steve_?” Natasha hissed.

“What is the matter?” Thor demanded.

Steve could not pause to answer his teammates and barely heard their questions.

“Jarvis, override his communicator controls! We need to hear what’s happening!” Tony commanded.

Steve did not have to explain as the others as Peter continued to scream.

“ _Help me, Pops! Help! Get it off_! _Pops?_!”

Peter kept screaming his name as if Steve had the strength to defeat this shadow monster. Steve was his father, he was Captain America the Super Soldier. Steve was undefeatable in Peter’s mind and he expected Steve to save him.

Nonetheless the shadow started crawling up Peter’s neck. Peter strained his neck trying to keep his head away from it.

Tendrils started to wrap around Steve’s limbs and Steve started pulling the substance toward his own body instead of away from the both of them. He begged, “Take me! _Please God, let it take me_! Leave my boy! Don’t hurt my baby, _please_!”

Despite his prayers and its making its way across Steve’s limbs, the black mass did not leave Peter. It made its way over the back of his head and encroached on his face from every angle.

At this point, Peter was sobbing and whatever he was gasping was coming out as unintelligible nonsense.

The mass pooled into Peter’s mouth and he started to choke.

“ _No, no, no. God, please. Please, God_ ,” Steve cried, scratching at the mass on his son’s face. It covered Peter’s face, and it looked more like Steve was standing in a mass of lumpy tar than with his son. The mass fell from his hands and he could almost make out his son’s form laying at his feet. Steve surged down and screamed, “ _PETER_?!”

“ _STEVE_??” Tony echoed down the hallway.

Steve ignored his husband for the more pressing matter of saving their son. He tore away at the spot he assumed was Peter’s head. He was praying with all his soul that he could save him and praying that he would not be too late.

He saw a flash of white in the black and, for a second, thought it was his son’s mouth.

“Peter??” Steve gasped.

The white blinked…an eye? Two eyes blinked and then a mouth grinned at him with pointed carnivorous teeth. Steve leaned back and garbled, “P-Peter?”

“He has reached his final form!” Dr. Calvin gasped.

Tony burst into the room and, after Iron Man’s steely gaze swept the room and did not see their son, he demanded, “ _Where’s Peter_?”

Steve looked away from the malicious smiling face of their son and to Tony. Steve did not know what his face portrayed but it was powerful enough to draw a painful hiss from his husband.

The black tendrils on Steve’s limbs pulled him in and Steve looked back to Peter. The mass had grown and mirrored Steve’s physique and the sharp smile had opened to reveal a large mouth.

“Pe—,” was all Steve was able to get out before the beast that once was his son swallowed him whole.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...I should have called this fic "The Chapters of Cliffhangers."


	6. Chapter 6

**_Hungry. So hungry. Feed. Must feed._ **

**_But I hurt. Pain. Stop._ **

Pops…

**_NO! Only food, need…_ **

**_Need…Need? Food? Yes, I hunger._ **

**_…But where relief? Where comfort?_ **

Where’s Pops? Dad?

**_HUNGER!!_ **

_…_

**_Must feed. Feeding bring comfort. Feeding bring end to hunger._ **

\---

Steve woke slowly. He blinked open his eyes slowly and the world was blurred around him. He inhaled deeply and as he exhaled his breath shuddered as it struggled up his throat and then he coughed madly in its great expulsion.

Memories came trickling back to him. The last thing he remembered was being swallowed by the same thing that had swallowed his son.

But Steve was back in the lab.

Steve sat up and glanced down at himself. He was unharmed but was covered in an odd dark goo.

“Peter?” Steve he asked breathlessly. Had he escaped too? His heartrate began to pick up as panic set in.

“ _Heh_.”

Steve followed the sound of the familiar voice and flinched when he saw Mary’s remains. She had been torn in two. Her top half was leaning against the wall and her lower half lay a few feet away. Her insides were not human but gear, wires, and metal bits and were strewn across the floor.

Steve’s jaw dropped and Mary whispered, “Surprised?”

“You’re – You’re not the Chameleon.” Steve sat up fully and gasped, “What are you?”

“The Chameleon was ‘Dr. Susan Calvin.’ He ran off as soon as Venom ate you. _I_ was the Chameleon’s gift to the Goblin for his escape from SHIELD,” Mary replied. “He wanted a way to get Venom to the boy and he felt his mother was the best way to go about it. So I was created with the boy’s DNA. Remember the break in at your tower? The Goblin broke into your husband’s lab to throw off suspicion but he was after Peter’s DNA. You all fell for it beautifully, by the way.”

Steve surged forward and gasped, “Y-You monsters!”

The cyborg grinned and murmured, “Now your boy’s a monster too.”

Steve’s mind flashed back to the moment that thing… _Venom_ swallowed him. He demanded, “What happened?”

“It seems we both do not agree with Venom’s digestive system. Venom did not eat you because you are so much like its host, it would have been like eating itself. And I, well, I am mostly metal, imitation flesh, and a pint of fake blood. After one bite, he spit me right out…but one bite was all it took,” she sighed upon her last statement as she looked down at her ruined body.

“And Tony?” Steve asked, remembering his husband had come for them. He glanced around the room it was in shambles but there was no sign of Iron Man or Venom. Steve’s heart clenched painfully as he pondered both their fates.

“What did you expect him to do? He saw Venom eat you, then me, and Peter was gone so he undoubtedly assumed he was eaten too…Stark thought he just lost his entire family. He went a little mad.”

Steve’s heart went out to Tony and he instantly reached for his communicator only to find it gone. He must have lost it at some point when Venom ate him.

He had to find a way to get word to Tony. He could not imagine what his husband was going through!

“Where are they?” Steve asked as he shakily got to his feet.

“I don’t know. Venom tried to eat Stark too and their fight was dragged outside,” Mary replied. “It was so wild that Stark did not even notice Venom expel you from his body.”

Steve demanded, “How do I save Peter? How do I separate him and Venom??”

“It’s too late. Venom has attached itself to Peter. They are one now. There is no separating them.”

“There must be a way!”

“The Goblin created Venom himself. He made it so it could fuse with Peter’s arachnid DNA. As my master so eloquently put it, ‘There’s no stopping Peter’s evolution.’ What’s done is done. He is Venom now.”

“I refuse to believe it!” Steve hissed.

“You won’t have to live in your fantasy world for long,” Mary retorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Avengers already killed him.”

Steve did not doubt her words. No one but the two of them, the Goblin, and the Chameleon knew the truth. He had to find the others and pray the Venom was still standing.

Steve charged over to his shield and picked it up.

“…But there might be a way,” Mary whispered.

Steve jolted to a stop and looked to Mary. He hissed, “What?”

“…There might be a way to help Peter,” Mary whispered, staring at the ruin of her innards. “Venom was not created from scratch. He was originally a symbiote created to eat cancer cells. It was flawed and the project was thrown away…that is how the Goblin got his hands on it. It cannot live without a host but it was not originally created to fuse so singularly with a host. It will take time for it to permanently bond with Peter. There might be a chance to separate them if the bond has not been totally completed.”

“Thank you,” Steve whispered as hope was renewed and billowed in his chest.

He went to leave but paused and looked to Mary. She was created to bring about Venom but she did not know better and despite that she still gave him words of encouragement. He could not hold it against her. The one at fault was the Goblin. He asked her, “Are you in pain? Is there anything I can do for you?”

A particular expression crossed her face and she replied, “I feel no pain…but –.”

“What?”

She shakily raised her hand and pointed to a cabinet. She stated, “In there was my master’s repair kit. Give it to me and maybe I can fix myself.”

Steve nodded then went to the cabinet she point to and found the kit she was talking about. He silently placed it next to her then turned to leave.

He sprinted to the door but paused when Mary called out, “Wait.”

Steve looked to her and she looked up from the toolkit and asked, “Why?”

“Because…it’s the right thing to do,” Steve replied.

“But I am your enemy.”

Steve smiled sadly at her and replied, “You did not have to be.”

He left her with a puzzled expression crossing her features.

Steve ran to the hole he had created in the window down the hall and looked down below. He spotted Venom and the Avengers immediately.

Relief washed over him in a mighty wave. They hadn’t killed him.

His relief was short lived as Venom was being attack on all sides by the Avengers. Venom was quick and its body was almost like fluid as it moved and dodged attacks by taking inhuman forms but the Avengers were still able to hit him, Tony especially.

Iron Man flew at Venom with no abandon. Tony usually did not follow battle strategies but his current fighting style could be considered suicidal. It wrenched his heart in two to see Tony throw himself at Venom. Tony did not know Peter was inside Venom and he did not know Steve was alive.

He was too high up to jump and with no communicator all he could do was scream, “ _STOP_!”

None of them could hear him and Thor hit Venom with his hammer. Venom went flying, lightening covering its black body, and then landed at Hulk’s feet. Hulk slammed down both of his huge fists and Venom’s body exploded.

“No!” Steve gasped and jolted forward instinctively, almost hurdling himself off the building. Yet Venom was not destroyed like he feared and reformed in a matter of seconds. It shrieked in Hulk’s face, baring over two dozen, long, sharp teeth. Hulk roared in reply and drew back his fists again.

Steve threw his shield before Hulk could make another move and it implanted itself right next to Venom and Hulk. Everyone’s heads snapped in the direction the shield flew from and all of their eyes seemed to focus on him.

Venom attacked Hulk again, drawing the green man into another fight. Iron Man, however, blast off the ground at a death defying speed and flew straight to him.

The suit came to a sudden halt in front of Steve then opened so Tony could jump out of it. Steve jerked forward to catch his husband and pulled him into a tight embrace.

Tony gasped, “ _You idiot_! You Goddamn, Star-spangled, beautiful idiot!” Tony pulled back just enough to mash his lips into Steve’s and he kissed him like a man starving for sustenance. Tony’s hands searched every corner of his body, checking for injury and touching him just to do it because they were both _alive_. Steve returned the kiss wholeheartedly. He was overjoyed Tony was still alive and in one piece.

Tony broke their kiss and gasped hopefully, “Is Peter with you?”

“No,” Steve replied and Tony’s relieved smile fell. Steve quickly explained, “That thing down there, it’s called Venom, and Peter is trapped inside it. It’s trying to become one with him! We need to separate them before it’s too late!”

Tony looked down at Venom and gasped, “Peter’s alive in _that_??”

“I’ll explain it all later! You need to tell the others to stop trying to kill it and start trying to contain it!”

Tony jumped back in his suit and the armor sealed around him. He held his arms open to Steve and he jumped into his husband’s arms. They flew down to the others as Tony relayed what Steve just told him.

Everyone backed off Venom immediately with the exception of the Hulk. The Hulk continued his fight with Venom and did not even seem to notice Steve was there.

Steve ripped himself from Tony’s hold and barreled straight into the fight. Steve grabbed one of Hulk’s fists, his arm was nearly the same size as Steve, and yelled,” HULK! Hulk stop! That thing is Peter! Peter’s in there! You could hurt him! HULK!”

Hulk turned to Steve with an enraged roar. He did not hear Steve. All he knew was that Steve was hindering him. Steve caught the Hulk’s emerald green eyes and he begged, “Hulk stop. It’s Peter, y-your brother. _Stop_.”

It was mentioning his brother that stopped him. Hulk retained some semblance of Bruce’s memories so he knew Peter to be Gamma-radiated too. He always saw Peter as his little brother and was very protective of him.

“Brother,” Hulk repeated.

“Yes, that’s Peter,” Steve gasped. “The Goblin did this to him, turned him this way.”

Hulk turned back to Venom. He had the symbiote trapped in his grip and it shrieked and squirmed madly, trying to escape. Hulk leaned in and sniffed at Venom. Venom bit him and scratched at him with his black claws but Hulk no longer retaliated.

“Brother,” Hulk repeated but this time his voice was layered in sorrow and recognition. He smelled Peter somewhere in the shadows of the monster.

Hulk gently released Venom and it shot away from him with a shriek.

Natasha ran to his side and hissed, “Steve, are you sure Peter is really in there?”

“I saw it with my own eyes,” Steve replied with a shudder as he remembered his son’s terrified face being swallowed by the dark mass.

“How the hell are we going to contain that thing??” Clint asked. He had an arrow drawn but was pointing it at the ground.

Thinking fast, Steve asked, “What about the glass cage we contained Loki in? Do we have another?”

“Yes, it originally was supposed to contain Hulk if he got out of control. SHILED made half a dozen just in case.”

“Then we’ll just have to find a way to get Venom in there and then find a way to separate it from Peter,” Steve stated, his mind already calculating what would need to be done.

“ _NO_!” Venom shrieked, its voice was so much like Peter’s that it made the acid from his stomach rise into his throat. He did not think it could talk. Was this a sign that they were losing Peter??

Venom continued, “WE STAY ONEEEE!”

It jumped back, over Clint and landed on an upturned car, and it shrieked, “WE ARE ONE!”

Venom’s body liquefied and Steve felt like he was going to throw up. Did Peter just liquefy too? Or…He could not fathom the thought that his son was already gone. They just joined, they still had to have time to separate them! Venom poured down the side of the car and into the drain bellow.

“No, Peter!” Steve screamed and lunged forward. By he was not fast enough. Venom disappeared into the sewers. Steve tore off the grating and a piece of the street but when he peered down into the sewers he saw no sign of the symbiote.

\---

**Escape.**

**Run.**

**Faster.**

**….Free.**

**Now feed.**

**Hungry. _So hungry._ **

Venom went back to street level and the morsels around him screamed and ran away.

So many choices. Which should he choose to consume?

 ** _Feed_**.

He grabbed the closest human. It was a man. Venom lifted him up to his mouth but paused when he saw the blue of his wide eyes.

 _Pops_.

Venom shrieked and threw the man. It was not his host’s father. The man only had –

 _M­y_ _eyes_.

Venom shrieked again at the inquisitive thought. That form of thinking belonged to his host’s past life. Venom did not think beyond its needs. Venom only had to be in the now. And, right now, Venom had to quench his hunger – with the exception of blue-eyed humans, those would upset his stomach…

Yet, just as he was about to swallow a green-eyed woman, he was hit from behind by the Thunder God.

“RELEASE PETER, BEAST!” Thor screamed.

Venom turned its head to Thor and shrieked loudly in rebuttal.

Venom opened its mouth as wide as he could and tried to swallow the Asgardian but the god shoved his hammer into Venom’s mouth, halting the feeding. Venom moaned in frustration. **_Would he ever get to eat_** _?_

Venom melted out of Thor’s hands. Thor tried to keep Venom in his grip and grabbed madly at his melting body.

Venom slipped away and once again fled to the safety of the sewers.

He fled again but this time was slower. His hunger was slowing him down.

“ _Foooood_ ,” he groaned.

“Hungry, son?”

Venom turned to the source of the voice. A massive, green beast stood at one end of the sewer. For a moment, Venom thought it was the Hulk, returned to attack him again, but then he noticed the beast’s eyes glowed red not green.

Venom regarded him with renewed interest. The beast was indeed large…deliciously large. So much mass…so much **_food_**.

Venom slowly stalked up to him and the green beast murmured approvingly, “Yes, come, come to my loving arms, son. I will feed you. I will take care of you. Then, together, we shall destroy all of those who have wronged me.”

Venom did not hear his words. All he could hear was his own voice in his mind chanting a single word: **Food, food, _food_**.

The green beast put up no defense like the other green giant. Devouring him would be easy.

Venom lunged forward as soon as he was close enough and tried to swallow the green beast. Yet, once again, Venom found himself being stopped. The green beast pushed him back with a growl and yelled, “YOU UNGRATEFUL BOY!”

“FOOD!” Venom screamed in rebuttal then lunged at the beast again.

The beast slapped him away and hissed, “I am your father – _your creator_ – you will obey me!”

“ _FOOD_!”

Venom was pushed back again and the green beast growled, “ _Where is your intellect_? Did the symbiote overtake all of you??”

“FOOD!”

Venom’s body exploded as the green beast pushed back with an incredible force. As he reformed, he heard the beast murmur, “This experiment obviously failed. You are worthless to me.”

Venom stiffly pushed himself up and cast his white gaze on the retreating form of the beast.

For the first time since his emergence, Venom allowed himself to think and then ultimately _hate_. This beast, he and his host inherently knew to be the source of all their hunger and hurts. For a moment, Venom was tempted only to kill, not just to consume but just to end the beast’s life.

The green beast stomped away and Venom did not give chase. He needed to stop chasing volatile food. He needed to hunt weaker prey.

\---

“—and don’t forget the eggrolls, Jarvis,” Tony commanded, drawing Steve out of the comatose state he was in.

They were back at the tower and were all gathered in the community room, waiting on word for the Hulk cage from SHIELD.

Hulk had become melancholy and was quick to shrink in his depression, leaving Bruce to stare desolately at one of Peter’s toys that had been left on the couch. He was doing much better than Bucky who was rocking to himself on the other end of the couch and refusing to speak. Natasha sat next to him with a hand centered on his back, rubbing small circles into his flesh.

Clint was wordlessly shooting his arrows at a spot on the wall. The spot had originally been a blank space above the couch but now had a chunk missing from the number of times he had fired there. Any other time, Steve would have told him to stop but at that moment he did not care about the state of the wall.

Thor sat outside, in the pouring rain created by his turbulent emotions. Lightening flashed and seemed to be attracted to his hammer as it almost always hit it. The thunder roared and made loose, lightweight objects in the room vibrate.

Steve did not remember returning to the tower. In fact, he did not remember much after Venom disappeared. Everything was in a fog until he heard Tony speak. His shock over the comment was instantly wiped away all his downtrodden feelings.

Tony was not searching the city grid nor obsessing over any little tidbit of information. No, Tony was ordering takeout just like it was a normal night, like their son was not turned into a monster and trying to eat innocent people.

For a few seconds, Steve’s shock overrode all his emotions and he felt nothing. As he sat there, in the very room Peter had played in countless times, – _the same room where Tony first met Peter_ – his anger spiked.

He leapt to his feet and hissed, “ _Eggrolls_?” Tony’s eyes widened upon Steve’s exclamation.

“Yes, _eggrolls_ ,” Tony retorted, instantly on the defensive. “ _We need to eat_.”

“Why aren’t you putting your resources towards finding _Peter_? Why are you ordering out instead!?” Steve demanded unjustly.

He was hurt, angry, and he and Tony were easy to bat heads. Usually though their fights were how a battle was handled not on the wellbeing of their son. Their prides were not on the line in this fight but their very hearts.

Tony’s eyes flashed with anger and hurt. He stepped up to Steve so only inches separated them and Tony lashed back, “I am putting _EVERYTHING_ towards finding Peter! _But_ we cannot operate without energy and I doubt any of us are sleeping tonight so food it is! I was thinking ahead because you clearly were too busy sitting around on the couch to do it!”

The insinuation stabbed Steve right in the heart and he quickly rebutted, “ _Too_ _busy_?? Were you too busy this last week to realize the blood sample you had was a fake?? Or that we had been talking to a cyborg the last few days? Wasn’t robotics your specialty?” Steve hissed.

“ _Fuck_ _you_!” Tony retorted, “And what about you? I thought Captain America was this great super soldier! You couldn’t see past the schemes?? You were so ready to trust Mary as soon as you heard she was alive!”

“Guys…” Bruce tried to intercede into their fight.

They ignored him and Steve yelled, “You believed her too! And you let Peter go to her during the battle even though we both were suspicious!”

“I was just thinking of my son’s safety!” Tony growled, getting in his face.

“ _He’s not even your son_!” Steve spat then shot his hand over his mouth as if to catch the words that were already out. Tony looked as if Steve just slapped him and made him feel all the worse.

“Tony –,” Steve gasped, reaching for him.

Tony jerked away and hissed, “I love that boy like he was my own flesh and blood. I raised him with you. I helped feed him. I helped clothe him. I freaking love him more than myself. _He is my son_. And just because you were too _weak_ to save him does not mean you have to take this out on me!”

Steve flinched and he saw Tony regret the words as soon as he said them. They stared at each other desolately. Both of them were hurt but still too angry to apologize. Steve reflected on Tony’s words and wondered how much Tony truly believed them. Did he really blame Steve for what happened to Peter?

“I’m useless in this fight,” Steve realized, voicing the thought aloud.

All Steve had was his strength and his strength had failed Peter when he needed him most. He did not have the technological resources like Tony did to find him and he did not have the biological knowhow that Bruce would use in trying to cure Peter of this symbiote.

“Steve, I did not mean that –,” Tony began apologetically.

“Shut up,” Steve hissed, not wanting to hear his weak reasoning to back up the lie. Peter had needed him and Steve had failed.

Tony’s face twisted and he growled, “You are not the only one hurting here! So why don’t you take that stick out of your ass and open your goddamn eyes!” Tony stalked past him and made sure to hit him with his shoulder as he walked by. He went straight to the elevator and probably went down to his lab.

Steve glared at the spot Tony had been standing moments before and felt everybody’s eyes on him.

“Steve?” Bruce stated tentatively.

Steve shook his head and murmured, “Not now, Bruce.”

Steve went to walk away, wanting to be alone, but Bruce launched himself across the room and gasped, “No! Wait!”

Steve paused upon hearing the urgency in his voice and turned questionably to his friend. Bruce grabbed Steve’s arm and touched a rip in his bicep armor.

“…Bruce?”

Bruce spread open the damaged material and hissed with excitement. Steve pulled back the tough leather and looked himself.

The thick, black mass that was adhered to his arm drew back his emotionless shock.

_Was that a piece of Venom?_

“We need to get to my lab immediately!” Bruce gasped, his eyes calculating.

Steve nodded and let Bruce drag him to the elevators. Clint called out Thor’s name, catching the thunder god’s attention. He dashed inside, his long, blond locks plastered to his face, and gasped, “Any word on Peter??”

“Steve’s got a piece of Venom on him! We’re going to the lab!” Clint stated from Steve’s side as he peered at the said substance.

“Then I shall join you!” Thor gasped.

“No, wait,” Bruce stopped them. “You’ll crowd up my lab. Stay here. Jarvis will make sure you’re updated. I don’t want any distractions.”

Both Clint and Thor frowned but nodded and did not follow them any further.

Natasha wordlessly watched their exchange from Bucky’s side, her hand still resting on his back, and her eyes were calculating. Bucky did not seem to notice and continued his rocking motions.

\---

Steve stripped down to his boxers and they found more black tar patches on his body. The one Bruce originally found on his bicep was the smallest, being the size of a palm print. He had another on his opposite leg completely covering his calf and the largest stretched across his back.

Bruce was making quite a ruckus as he turned on various machines and Tony came in a few minutes after Steve sat on the examination table.

Tony was still angry, Steve could tell by his frown, but as soon as his eyes latched on Steve the frown broke as his lips parted and all the blood drained from his face.

Tony raced across the room and to Steve’s side. His eyes fearfully took in the dark splotches and his eyes grew larger as he saw the big one on his back. He grabbed Steve’s hands and gasped, “Are you becoming one too? Are you going to turn into Venom??”

Steve’s stomach clenched unpleasantly as he wondered the questions himself. He replied, “That can’t happen. Mary said Venom rejected me.”

Bruce brought forth a handheld scanner and began to examine the mass on Steve’s arm. He said, “Tell me everything that she said.”

So Steve did. He recited their entire conversation from the moment he woke to the moment he left her. When he repeated Mary telling him Tony went mad with grief, his husband leaned heavily into his side and brokenly whispered, “I did, I truly did.”

Steve continued to tell Bruce but he wrapped an arm around Tony and squeezed his shoulder. Their embrace was their silent way of apologizing to each other.

After he relayed all the information, Bruce wordlessly began to check his vitals and attached a number of electrodes to his forehead and chest. The machines around Bruce’s lab came to life and began to record Steve’s readings. Bruce remained at his side with his handheld machine that was getting readings off the Venom patches.

“Bruce, I know you work best in silence but, please, say something, the suspense is killing me!” Tony gasped, stating the very thoughts running through Steve’s head.

“I need a few minutes…” Bruce murmured as he peered at his handheld’s screen.

Steve sighed heavily and looked down to Tony. He caught Tony looking at him so he took the chance to say, “I’m sorry about earlier. I didn’t mean any of it. I don’t blame you for any of this.”

“I’m sorry too,” Tony replied. “And I don’t blame you either…It’s the Goblin’s fault.”

Steve bent down and kissed Tony. It was only going to be a quick comforting kiss but Tony pulled him in deeper and the next thing he knew he had Tony’s tongue in his mouth and his hands kneaded the muscles around Steve’s neck and shoulders.

Bruce cleared his throat from across the room, reminding them that he was there.

They broke apart, gasping for breath, and Tony begged in a private whisper, “Don’t you dare leave me too. I don’t think my heart can handle losing you again.”

“I promise,” Steve whispered, lightly squeezing the back of his neck.

His heart clenched painfully as he remembered his last promises had been made to Peter. He promised Peter he would save him, would he break his promise to Tony as well?

“Steve,” Bruce whispered, sounding somewhat speechless, and drawing both his and Tony’s attentions. “You were right, this is a symbiote, but it’s been _gamma_ - _radiated_. I can find traces of Peter’s DNA in it to draw the symbiote to Peter but since your genetic codes are so similar the Venom remains on you are evolving and adhering to _your_ DNA.”

Tony’s grip tightened on him and Steve hissed, “Is it going to start to grow on me too?”

“I can’t tell yet. I need to run some more tests but if the Goblin really did make this then he had to have had a huge facility to properly use the gamma-radiation. Maybe there we can find out Venom’s origins and how to separate it from Peter and you.”

“Great, then where is he?” Steve asked, slipping off the table. Bruce and Tony exchanged glances and Steve asked, “Thor subdued him, didn’t he?”

“…When we all heard Peter on the radio, we came running,” Tony explained. “Thor included. The Goblin got away.”

Steve sighed heavily and disappointment flowed heavily though him. He paused to collect his thoughts then earnestly stated, “I would have done the same…A-And Mary or the Chameleon? Any sign of them?”

Both men shook their heads and Steve sighed again.

They were the only two who would have known anything about the Goblin.

Bruce went back to analyzing his data and Tony drew Steve to his lab as they awaited any results their friend could come up with. They cuddled on the couch and both of them actively avoided looking at Peter’s workstation.

The subject of their son could not be avoided and Tony was the first to ask, “Do you think he is aware of what is happening?”

Steve thought of Peter having to watch as Venom ate Steve and attack the rest of their family and whispered, “I hope not.”

Tony kept touching him, as if to reassure himself Steve was still there but his hands avoided the dark patches on his skin. The patches were unnerving. Steve could clearly see them but he could feel anything on his skin until he touched it with his fingertips. Under his fingers it felt like the same warm, rubbery substance he had tried to tear off Peter.

The Chinese food came and was brought to the community room but neither Tony nor Steve had the energy to move. Bruce also did not go up but that was only because he was too wrapped up in his research to hear Jarvis tell him there was food available.

The glasslike Hulk cage also arrived but it sat empty on the landing on top of the tower. SHIELD was crawling all over the island. Venom popped up all over but always disappeared before Avengers or SHIELD came in force.

With the passing of midnight and the official start of a new day, Steve’s prior hopes of finding a way to separate Peter from Venom were beginning to dwindle. What if there was no cure? What if Peter, his beautiful baby boy, was really gone?

It broke his heart to merely imagine it, he could not envision going on without his son.

Before he found Peter, his life had been bleak and filled with unfortunate circumstances. Finding his son, not only gave Steve a family but a reason to live. With Peter had come moving in with the Avengers, dating and marrying Tony, and never-ending joy and love.

 _If Peter was gone_ …his mind could not process it and recoiled from the thought.

Yet the thought had been planted and began to fester.

He felt Tony’s lips lightly brushing his cheeks and he realized he was kissing away his tears. Steve buried his face in Tony’s chest, let his courage falter, and unleashed it all. All his worry, all his fear, and all his pain came pouring out of him in the form of powerful sobs.

Tony wound his arms around Steve’s head and pressed his face into Steve’s scalp and, with Steve, he too wept for their lost child.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you're enjoying the angst!
> 
> I just got tickets to Comic Con, which I am super stoked about!  
> My excitement has encouraged me to write more so I might post sooner next week! :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was hoping to post this sooner but real life reared it ugly head and prevented that from happening! But here it is! The next chapter! It can't get any worse for the superfamily... or can it? Hmmmmm...

Somehow they fell asleep and later Bruce woke Steve with a tender touch. Steve blinked open his salt-crusted lashes and Bruce motioned for him to be quiet.

Steve glanced at his watch, it was a little after 3 a.m. He got a couple hours of sleep. Looking at the dark bags under Bruce’s eyes, Steve knew his friend got absolutely no sleep.

“Come to my lab,” Bruce whispered. Steve nodded and carefully slipped out of Tony’s arms, making sure not to wake him. He paused to pull a blanket off the back off the couch and draped it over him. Steve lightly kissed his forehead before following Bruce out.

He followed Bruce silently across the hall and into his lab. As soon as the doors sealed behind them Steve asked, “What is it?”

“I need to test some things with the symbiote remains on you,” Bruce murmured and motioned for him to sit at the examination table again.

Steve sat and asked, “What kind of tests?”

“I just want to test its reactions to temperature changes, certain alloys, moisture…pretty much everything to see if there’s some kind of weakness.

Steve nodded and said, “Alright, let’s get to work.”

\---

Peter fell into the dumpster, gasping deeply for breath and gagging as he tried to get the taste of Venom out of his mouth. All his muscles were shaking as he struggled to stay standing.

Venom had been thwarted in feeding, first by the Avengers, then by the Goblin, and then by SHIELD. Every time Venom surfaced, the spy organization jumped on him within minutes, saving whoever he was trying to eat and, in turn, trying to capture the symbiote.

With no food, Venom fed off Peter instead, draining him of energy. He had lost all his body fat and looked like he had not eaten in weeks. Hell, he felt like he had not eaten in weeks.

Eventually, Venom could no longer hold its form and had shrunk, leaving Peter in control again.

Peter had no idea where he was. He checked for his phone and was dismayed to find it gone and with it his clothes. He was completely nude with the exception of Venom hanging in tatters off his left shoulder and waist like a tar Tarzan pelt.

He could feel Venom in the back of his mind, waiting, planning, and hungering…

Peter’s stomach clenched tightly. He was sooo hungry.

Gasping like he had run miles, Peter used the alleyway’s wall as support as he pushed himself toward the main road.

Was he near home? Or Oscorp? Was he still even in New York?

Peter could not believe how lucky he was when a cop strolled past the mouth of the alley.

“Help,” Peter gasped. The cop stumbled to a stop and regarded Peter with shock before slipping into a serious, professional demeanor.

He began to hurry over to Peter while murmuring into his radio, “I need a 10-52 at the corner of 47th and –.”

Peter groaned loudly and fell to his knees. Venom stirred and his hunger increased tenfold.

The cop ran up to him and asked, “Hey kid, are you alright? What happened?”

Venom was clawing his way out of the back of Peter’s head and Peter easily read his intentions.

He was wrong. Venom did not shrink because he had grown weak.

He was just using Peter as bait.

“G-Get away from me,” Peter gasped but not a moment later Venom emerged and Peter was embraced in the darkness again.

Peter instantly hid in the back of his mind and tried to ignore the cop’s cries, the feel of his body being torn by his claws and jaws, and the satisfying warmth as the man’s meat filled his gullet.

Peter _tried_ , but his eyes were Venom’s eyes and his hands were Venom’s hands. Everything Venom felt, saw, smelt, tasted, and heard, Peter did as well. They shared everything with the exception of control…Venom was the only one in possession with that.

Once they had their fill, they slipped into the sewers before the SHIELD agents found them again, leaving behind a bloody mess.

Venom hummed with content as they moved. Their kill was nourishing but was not near enough to abate his hunger.

“Please let me go,” Peter begged, what was probably the thousandth time.

“ _We are one_ ,” Venom replied again as he always did when Peter spoke to him.

A few blocks over, they surfaced again and again Peter was freed.

He made no attempt to find help and simply collapsed where Venom freed him. Trembling and gasping for air, he frantically tried to think of a way to escape Venom.

“Are you alright?”

Peter looked up. A woman stepped over to him, her face clouded with concern.

Peter opened his mouth to scream for her to run but Venom overtook him again and once again consumed Peter’s would-be-savior.

They returned to the sewer and Venom was already triangulating where they would surface next and play their fishing game again. Peter’s horror was so great he was at a loss for words to protest the atrocities.

The feedings continued and Peter found himself being chipped away with every death.

All his life, Peter imagined himself growing up to be like his fathers. He always envisioned himself becoming a superhero just like them.

But as Venom hunted, he realized he could _never_ be that now.

He had killed, he had _eaten_ innocent people. Peter was never going to be a superhero now, not even a supervillain…he was simply a monster.

\---

Steve graciously accepted a mug of coffee from Tony and then patted the spot beside him. Tony took the silent cue and, with his own mug in hand, he pushed himself up onto the examination table next to Steve with a heavy sigh.

Steve leaned into his side and greedily absorbed his warmth. He was still only in his boxers and he did not realize how cold he had gotten until Tony touched him.

Reports had been trickling in all night. Venom was killing and…feeding.

Steve gulped back his nauseous revulsion at the thought and took a deep, steadying breath to calm his already frayed nerves.

SHIELD had nearly all its agents on it and Thor and Clint were helping with what they could but nothing seemed to be able to stop Venom.

Steve glanced down at his husband and saw he wore the same glazed over look in Steve’s eyes. He must have seen the reports too.

“Jarvis says you two have been doing tests?” Tony asked as his eyes trailed over the dark spot on Steve’s arm. He had probably grilled Jarvis as soon as he woke and noticed Steve was gone from his side.

Steve sighed heavily, his shoulders slumping as he did, and he replied, “Yes, but we’ve got nothing so far.”

“We know it’s sensitive to heat,” Bruce retorted from across the room. He was sitting at his computer and did not look up from the screen. Bruce had yet to take a break and seemed to be moving faster as more reports of Venom came in. Bruce’s hair was disheveled from constantly pulling at it. It was a habit of his he developed when he came across something he did not understand.

“Yeah, but you burnt me too,” Steve murmured, rubbing his arm. The burn had long ago healed but the memory remained. “I want to find a solution that does not burn Peter to cinders…And Venom jumped right back on me once the heat was gone.”

“We’ll find something,” Bruce reassured him and Bruce’s mouth tightened into a hard, thin line as his gaze returned to his reports.

Steve sighed heavily again and took a sip from the coffee Tony had given him. The coffee was black with none of the milk or creamer he would have preferred but he did not taste the overly strong bitterness. It tasted like nothing and he barely noticed its burning temperature.

Steve stared off into space at nothing in particular. His mind was mercifully devoid of thoughts. He knew he was in shock and he did not care. At least he was no longer thinking about his son’s horrible fate.

Tony studied his face with sad eyes.

Tony seemed to make up his mind about something because he suddenly gripped Steve’s thigh as a way of letting him know they were parting and then slid off the table. Tony walked over to Bruce and asked, “Is there anything I can do?”

“Not at this juncture,” Bruce replied. “I’m just waiting on some data before proceeding.”

“Well maybe I can help speed that up,” Tony stated as he popped off the back of Bruce’s computer.

Bruce jumped to his feet and gasped, “No, Tony wai—!”

A gear shuddered then stopped without the support of the shell. The computer screen went black and a sudden shrill sound emulated from the console.

The Venom patches shot off Steve and across the room in an attempt to escape it. It curled into a writhing mass against the far wall. All three of them exchanged incredulous expressions.

“T-The sound,” Bruce garbled in stunned explanation. He had frozen in place with a single hand raised and did not move as if he feared doing so would disrupt what had just happened.

Steve’s numbing shock seemed to leap off him just as Venom had and he smiled so widely at his husband that his cheeks hurt. He bound across the room and lifted Tony into a tight embrace.

“You amazing genius!!” Steve gasped then kissed him. Tony laughed excitedly and returned the kiss wholeheartedly.

They broke apart and Tony whispered, “Now let’s go save our son.”

Bruce was grinning as he unplugged the machine and cut off the noise.

Steve felt the symbiote hit his back as it rebound back to him. This time he felt it crawl over his back as it tugged at his skin. Steve staggered from the sudden weight and Tony caught him.

Steve met Tony’s wide eyes and whispered, “We need to contain it.”

“The Hulk cage is on the balcony,” Bruce stated.

Tony glanced at him then back to Steve and the symbiote on his back. He whispered, “I can build something with the same high pitch in five minutes.”

Steve nodded unable to speak. His hope had returned and made his chest swell and his throat tight.

_Hold on, Peter!_

\---

By feeding Venom was better able to bond with his host. He could access the boy’s memories and intelligence. He used it to move around the city and evade capture.

Yet, no matter how much Venom ate, he could not quench his hunger. It was an endless cycle of eating and hungering. He was damned. The Goblin had done something wrong and flawed the symbiote’s genetic code. It seemed as if he could never stop feeding.

Even with his improved brain function, his fishing game with his host only lasted so long. SHIELD caught on quickly and were crawling all over the sewers in a few hours. In the darkness of night, Venom was able to hide in shadows and attack unsuspecting victims.

Yet with the daylight the shadows were obliterated and with it his hiding places. SHIELD found him before the sun had even fully risen. The agents could not capture him, he dodged whatever they threw at him and slipped out of all the traps they had.

But he could not feed.

SHIELD scared away the populace and whenever Venom got ahold one of the agents, all the other agents fired down upon him with all their strength.

It was when he felt his strength abating, that he felt _it_.

It was a piece of himself he thought lost but it had survived without the host. Venom was intrigued but wary. How had that lost piece survived?

Venom followed the invisible pull and the SHIELD agents did not hinder him.

Venom took note of this and his wariness grew. There was bound to be a trap ahead.

His host was silent and had stopped speaking altogether after the first few feedings but Venom could feel the boy’s consciousness paying attention.

“We are one,” Venom reminded him and he felt an internal shudder from his host. The boy no longer objected and it made the symbiote smile.

Venom was drawn to a large intersection where a great, cylinder glass cage sat in the middle. More wires than usual hung around the intersection and there were additional speakers but Venom ignored them, the cage was clearly there for him and captured all of his attention. Venom recognized it from his host’s memories as being the thing that could contain the Hulk and Norse Gods. Venom paused as he doubted decision to move any closer.

The cage door was open and a figure stood within.

Venom recognized the rejected food instantly as did his host.

 _Pops_. The boy’s voice called out to his sire with intense longing. He wanted the man to save him from Venom, hold him, and make him forget everything that happened.

“Onnneeeee,” Venom reminded him with a hiss and stalked toward the cage. The boy made no objections but watched his father with a hungry gaze through their shared eyes.

The father made no move toward Venom but, instead, waited in the cage. Venom circled the cage but made no move to enter.

No one else approached them and Venom wondered what their endgame was. Then he could not help but wonder if he tried to eat the blond man again if he will digest this time.

“NO!”

The boy’s insistence was so strong that Venom staggered and his host’s voice broke through Venom’s mouth.

The man stepped toward the opening to the cage and painfully gasped, “ _Peter_?”

“We are one,” Venom reminded them both in a growl and came to a stop a few feet from the father. He finally spotted the piece of himself he had been following. He stared greedily at the mass on the father’s back.

It had survived by feeding off the father.

“Hungryyyy,” Venom hissed with a curling smile.

It was at that moment that the trap was sprung and Venom’s entire body exploded.

\---

It took all of Steve’s willpower to stay in the cage when Venom first appeared. They thought they would have to lead the monster to him but it came as if it was being pulled on a tether.

Tony was able to mimic the frequency that hurt the partial symbiote on Steve but they were not sure if it would have the same on the actual symbiote or what would happen to Peter. But they had to try nonetheless.

The entire intersection was hooked up with speakers, ready to play the shrill sound at a moment’s notice. The plan was to turn it on as soon as Venom was close enough. Steve knew he could not get the symbiote into the cage. It was smart enough to know it could contain it but he planned to grab Peter as soon as the shrill alarm went off. Then, after he gave the signal, the alarm would be turned off for a few seconds and the symbiote rebound back to them. Steve planned to drop and let it fly past him and into the cage.

What he had not been expecting was Venom staying on Peter.

The shrill alarm sounded and Venom’s body expanded beyond what he thought possible then broke apart in many different directions with Peter at its core.

Steve’s heart dropped when he saw his son. Peter had transformed overnight and looked like he was just skin and bones. His eyes were sunken in and dark, his skin was tight and dry, and his once thick brown hair was thin. Peter trembled where he fell and the tendrils of Venom which were still attached to him shook his body all the more.

Peter called out pitifully to him, “P-Popsss.”

Venom’s body had yet to reform and was flailing wildly in tendrils around Peter. Steve ran from the cage, dodged Venom, and knelt next to his son. He was afraid to touch him, nonetheless move him. Peter looked as if his skin was as delicate as tissue paper and his bones as fragile as fine glass.

“I’m sorry,” Peter gasped, lightly grasping Steve’s arm with was probably all the strength he could muster. “I didn’t mean to – I didn’t want to. Tell all those people’s families I am so-so sorry.”

Steve gently returned the grasp and whispered, “It’s okay, Peter. I know you didn’t mean it.” Steve voice broke off a little and he took a deep breath to battle his emotions. He gently put his arms under Peter and picked him up, whispering, “Let’s get you home.”

Venom rose with them and remained attached to Peter by several points and began to start sticking to Steve. The mass on Steve’s back had already fled and rejoined the main body.

Peter sighed and closed his eyes, nuzzling his face into Steve’s chest. His skeletal hand rose and lightly touched his chest where Steve’s dog tag was beneath his shirt.

Peter whispered without opening his eyes, “I lost mine, Pops…I’m sorry.” Peter had always been fascinated with Steve’s dog tags so he split the pair and gave one to Peter. His son never took it off until…until now.

“It’s okay, Peter,” Steve whispered, just barely keeping his voice from breaking. Steve stooped his head and lightly kissed Peter’s forehead. He repeated, “It’s okay…”

Steve quickly reworked the plan in his mind and began to walk both Peter and Venom to the cage.

When they were halfway there, Steve asked, “How are you doing, Petey?”

“That noise hurts,” Peter whined.

“It will be turned off soon,” Steve promised. He lifted his hand to lightly touch the communicator in his ear and whispered, “Amplify the noise as soon as we’re in the cage.”

“Got it,” Tony retorted curtly. His voice was strained and Steve knew it had to be because he was watching the video feed and Peter’s condition stressed him as much as it did Steve.

Upon his communication, a large piece of Venom broke away from Peter and hit the pole of a yield sign across the street. The sign bent at a ninety degree angle from the impact then Venom squirmed around it for a few seconds until the sign fully broke off.

Steve turned his head to watch it. At first, he thought it was trying to leave Peter and escape the cage. But then the mass lifted the remains of the sign pole with several long tendrils of its inky black form and the breath caught in Steve’s throat.

“STOP IT!” He screamed but they were not fast enough. The mass swung the pole at the wires overhead and sliced right through them. The sound of the shrill alarm deceased greatly as most of the speakers lost power or connection to the main computer.

The mass seemed to grow and gain power from the lower volume. It swung the pole one last time then threw it across the intersection, severing more wires and totally cutting the sound.

Peter’s eyes snapped open and he stared unflinchingly at Steve’s chest. He did not move but looked at if he were waiting. Like he knew what was about to happen.

Venom surged back down upon his son and Steve tried to draw Peter away from it. Yet Venom was still attached to his son so his attempts were in vain. He screamed, “GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM HIM!”

He tore wildly at the symbiote’s body, hoping against hope that he could stop it from taking Peter again

“Pops,” Peter whispered, touching Steve’s arm and stilling the limb. Peter looked exhausted and he was not trying to fight off the symbiote like he had when it originally took him. Peter met his gaze with eyes that were welling up with tears. He saw the defeat in Peter’s face and it broke Steve.

Peter wetly stated, “It’s no use. We are one.”

“Peter, no!” Steve gasped, grabbing his son the best he could through the mass around them. Peter closed his eyes and leaned back into the writhing black mass. Steve tore at Venom and screamed, the sound tearing his throat, “ _PETER_!”

Yet Peter was gone in a matter of seconds and Venom’s face appeared. The beast rose to its feet and repeated victoriously, “We _are_ one.”

\---

“Steve?”

Steve wearily lifted his head to meet Thor’s gaze and looked at him questionably. The Norse God had been hiding across the street and had been Steve’s backup in case Venom became too much for Steve.

Venom had melted away down the storm drain and Steve had fallen to his knees in the seconds it took for Thor to reach him.

Steve continued to stare at his friend and did not have the strength to reply to his name. The emotional turnover of having Peter in his arms then torn away was so draining that he barely had the strength to move.

Tony was the next to come to his side. He landed next to Steve in his Iron Man suit then wobbled and fell to his knees. The suit opened and Tony fell out, landing on his hands. Tony’s face was as grey as ash and when he met Steve’s eyes Steve saw the same desolation in the black pits of his irises that mirrored his own.

Tony shakily reached out to Steve then grasped the side of his neck. His fingers dug into Steve flesh and his face crumpled. Tony leaned in and pressed his forehead to Steve’s.

“O-Our baby,” Steve gasped as he grabbed the front of Tony’s shirt and curled his fingers into the fabric. He pulled Tony closer, pressing their chests together, wrapping their arms around each other’s backs, and burying their faces into the other’s shoulder. Despite the embrace, they both trembled. Steve cried, “ _Oh my_ _God_. _He’s gone. He and Venom are one. We’re too late. Good God, we’re too late_.”

Tony did not counter his declaration. He just held him tighter. They were no longer denying it nor pretending there was a way to save him. They had tried and failed and saw with their own eyes their son give up.

“What are we going to do now?” Tony gasped into his flesh. Steve knew he was not asking how else they would try to separate Peter and Venom.

No, he was asking how they were going to live on without him and – and…

Steve shook his head, rubbing his dripping eyes into Tony’s shoulder.

Venom could not roam free.

The monster was already responsible for over a dozen deaths. If they or SHIELD could not contain him then the only other option was to destroy him.

And with him, Peter as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Annnnnndddd the angst and shocking cliffhangers continue!   
> Posting in another week! :3


	8. Chapter 8

Steve placed his shield on Coulson’s desk and stated, “I cannot fight this battle.”

Coulson look up from his shield with a sad expression and stated, “I would never ask you to fight your own son. And I would never have asked for your shield because of it. Keep your shield, Captain. You will need it again in the future.”

“…I don’t think I can go on saving others when I could not save the one person who mattered,” Steve whispered without meeting the Director’s eyes. “You once told me you had people who would gladly take up my mantle. Well, I am gladly giving it up to them.”

Coulson shook his head and replied, “I refuse to take it.”

Steve scowled and stared into Coulson’s unflinching eyes. Steve saw he was resolute in his declaration. Steve thrust his shield into the wooden desk, skewering it into the furniture.

“I am not giving you a choice,” Steve retorted then left Coulson’s office without another word.

No one attempted to stop Steve as he stalked out of the building. Steve did not pause to say hello to the agents he knew and worked with nor did he look back.

Happy was waiting for him in one Tony’s cars and opened the door for him. Steve slid inside and released a deep sigh as he settled into the seat. His arm felt abnormally light and he felt exposed and weaker without the shield in his possession. He checked his phone but had no alerts and the communicator in his ear had been silent since he left.

A week had passed since his confrontation with Venom and no one had seen any signs of him since.

Happy turned back to him and asked, “Back to the Tower?”

Steve did not look away from the glowing screen of his phone and whispered, “Yes.”

Steve turned off the screen and looked outside. He stared unseeingly at the landscape they drove by and darkly pondered where his son was.

He did not know they were home until Happy had opened the door and lightly touched his shoulder. Upon looking to him, Happy smiled sadly at him and stated, “We’re back.”

“…Right,” Steve said, Steve stared dumbly at Happy for a moment as he processed his words. When he finally understood them and, saw that they were indeed back at the tower, he stated, “Thank you.”

Happy stepped back and Steve stepped out. With heavy shoulders, he walked over to the elevator and he felt Happy watch him as he crossed the room. He stepped inside the lift without turning around so he would not have to see the older man’s melancholy expression. The metal doors sealed behind him with a light click and, without raising his head, Steve asked, “Is he still there, Jarvis?”

“Yes, Master Rogers.”

Steve squeezed his eyes shut to keep his immediate distraught reaction to the AI’s words from showing. He took a deep, calming breath and whispered, “Take me to him, Jarvis.”

“At once,” the AI replied and the elevator began to move.

Steve rubbed his eyes and took several deep breaths to get his emotions under control. When the doors opened, Steve squared his shoulders and put on a brave face.

He stepped out and walked down the hall to Tony’s lab.

He paused in front of the door for a moment and paused to toughen his resolve then went through the walkway.

The smell of alcohol hit him as soon as he stepped into the room. Jarvis had protocols set up to put everything in the lab on lockdown until Tony was sober. The lab was dark and unusually quiet. Even Dummy’s slight hum sounded loud as it turned its single eye to look to Steve.

The protocols had been up for the last few days.

Tony was sitting on the couch wrapped up in Peter’s favorite quilt. He was clutching a bottle of vodka in one hand and one of Peter’s inventions in another. The invention was a simple jack-in-the-box toy but it played a tune Peter came up with on his own and instead of a Jack's head popping out it was a plushie of Hawkeye.

Tony did not notice Steve and was staring miserably at Peter’s workstation as he swayed from his inebriation.

Steve went to his husband’s side and lifted the quilt so he could slide underneath it with him. He placed the blanket over his shoulders and nestled into Tony’s side. Up close, the smell of alcohol was stronger but was also coupled with the underlying stench of vomit.

Tony clumsily embraced him. At first, he tried to wrap his arms around Steve while holding the large glass bottle and boxy invention but both got it the way. Tony looked down at the objects with a torn expression then decided to put down the vodka in favor of Peters creation.

Steve gripped Tony tighter as he nestled the invention between them and his heart welled with both joy for his husband choosing the toy over the alcohol and heartbreak that Tony was so drunk that he actually had to make the decision.

They took comfort from each other’s warmth and, for several minutes, shared a silence that neither had to ponder over.

Tony broke the quiet as he hoarsely whispered, “We missed Father’s Day.”

Steve crushed his eyes closed to stop the uncontrollable tears that instantly welled up. He thought he was getting a hold of it but it was the little things that always seemed to break him. He stopped the tears but he could not hid his shudders from Tony. His husband reaffirmed his grip on Steve. It was his way of letting Steve know he was there for him. Only when he trusted himself to speak, did Steve gasp, “He loved you, Tony. You got to hear him call you ‘Dad’ at least…”

Tony’s eyes stared into Steve’s chest and a pained expression crossed his face as he replied, “…I wanted to hear him call me Dad for years…I wanted to hear him yell it excitedly as he showed me a new invention…I-I wanted to hear him say it as he thanked me in his valedictorian speech when he graduated…I wanted to hear him say it when he recognized me for the over the top toast I gave at his wedding… _I wanted to hear him use it every day, for the rest of my life_ …It’s all I wanted, Steve…” Tony’s voice broke and he buried his face into Steve’s chest. He repeated with tight voice, “ _It’s all I wanted_.”

Steve wound his arms around Tony’s head and rocked him as he began to weep again. The alcohol made his once strong husband into a weaker version of himself. It crushed Steve to see Tony like this, at his lowest and most wretched.

He did not know what to say to Tony to draw him out of this. He could not even provide false hope because there was no hope for them to cling to. The very thought made tears well up in his eyes again but this time Steve did not fight it. His tears flowed silently down his cheeks and into Tony’s scalp.

There had to be something Steve could do…He was willing to do anything at this point to save both Peter and Tony.

 _Anything_.

\---

When Peter woke up, he could tell he had been asleep for a long time but not long enough to refresh him. He felt extremely sluggish as he sat himself up and the pressure in his forehead foreshadowed the coming of an exceptionally bad migraine.

Because of his drowsiness, it took him a few minutes to remember the last time he was awake was when he was being pulled back into Venom’s dark embrace.

Peter was wide awake after that remembrance and leapt to his feet and searched for the monster.

He recognized the large tunnel he lay in as being a part of the sewers Venom had dragged them through as they hunted. Overhead, a sewer grate cast light down on him and he could hear the hustle and bustle of a normal city day going on.

Peter glanced down at himself and found he was wearing the same clothes he had on when Venom swallowed him. He thought they had been destroyed. Peter checked his sweater for his phone, but it was not there.

“Was it a dream?” Peter asked no one in particular. The black mass that had totally covered his body was seemingly gone. Peter peered at his skeletal looking hands and asked, “Or am I still in a dream?”

“One,” Venom whispered in his ear.

Peter spun around but the symbiote was not there. He glanced down at his hands and whispered, “Are we still one?”

In answer, Peter’s clothes warped and covered his body in an inky coating. Venom whispered in his ear again, “One.”

Peter froze and waited for Venom to drag them after their next victim but they did not move. Peter cautiously shifted and Venom let him. Peter dropped his arms and the symbiote did not restrict him. To test his luck, he suddenly dashed a few feet down the tunnel but was unhindered.

He looked down at the inky black substance covering his body and watched in amazement as it disappeared and turned back into his clothes.

“What is happening?” Peter gasped.

“We are one now,” Venom whispered in the back of his mind. “We share one body. We share control.”

The last time he was awake he had given up. The last few tendrils of hope that held Peter together snapped when Venom returned to him. Venom had broken him. Peter had accepted that fact. He was not happy about it but he knew it was what he had to live with. Peter had ignored his extra sense when it screamed at him to run away and now he was to pay the price.

But now Venom was giving Peter freedom and a tentative and extremely thin tendril of hope reformed.

Peter’s heart leapt into his throat and lodged itself there. He gargled, “Y-You mean I c-c-can go home??”

“…Beings of home will try to separate us,” Venom hissed. Peter cringed under his anger and ducked his head to try to make himself smaller.

Peter stared desolately at his feet and asked, “Wh-What can we d-do then?”

Peter’s entire life was his family. If Venom denied him access to them then he had nothing. All that remained was Venom and his feedings. Peter cringed at the thought and felt nauseous.

He could feel Venom in his mind, listening to his thoughts. Peter’s thoughts eventually dwindled and turned inward to focus on Venom. The symbiote was waiting for him and when he had Peter’s attention, murmured, “You wanted to save people like your sire. We can do that.”

“N-No more killing?” Peter gasped hopefully.

He felt Venom consider his words and then it stated, “No more killing.”

Peter’s relief was so powerful that his legs trembled and he slumped to the ground. Not being able to return to his family was horrible but Venom agreeing not to kill anymore was marvelous. Maybe, with time, Venom would be more willing to let him see his family. But, in the meantime…

“Y-You said I can save people? I can be a superhero?”

“Yessss,” Venom hissed.

“Then let’s do it!”

Venom had access to his mind so he had an idea what Peter always imagined his costume to be. It only took the symbiote a few seconds to create it but it took them a few minutes to find a reflective surface for Peter to look at it.

In the back of his mind, he could feel Venom manipulating his emotions by lessening his sorrow from missing his family and increasing his eagerness of his new identity, but Peter was distracted as he peered at his reflection with mounting excitement.

He retained Venom’s height but Venom shaped them with a slicker body similar to Peter’s. He had a full body suit that did not expose an inch of skin and was Venom’s pure black hide. A white spider clutched his chest, marking Peter with the symbol he always associated his powers with. The only other color in his black suit was the white of his oval, glass eyes. He looked like an adult, like the superhero he always thought he would grow up to be.

Peter looked for the faces of his Pops and Dad in the reflection but they were not proudly standing behind him like he had always imagined.

His excitement was instantly subdued. He remembered the one stipulation Venom gave him and he instantly missed his fathers enormously.

“Forget about them,” Venom whispered. “All you need is me. All you need is us…”

Yet Peter’s mood only worsened.

What was he doing? Why was he playing dress up? Who was he kidding? He could not be a superhero. So many had died because of him…

“Had you accepted me sooner, they did not have to have died,” Venom stated, making Peter nauseated. Venom soothed, “All is right now. We are one. We will save lives. We will not kill.”

Peter nodded at his reflection and let Venom push away his sadness. Maybe he could somehow make up for the lives that were taken…

They left the sewer without incident. According to Venom they had hibernated for a few days as they bonded. So the streets were no longer crawling with SHIELD agents and the populace was back – _cautious_ – but back on the streets.

Venom was just as intent on catching a villain as Peter was and he ignored the civilians. Peter did not even detect a stray thought associating them with food and the relief Peter felt was almost palpable. Peter was stuck with Venom but maybe they could work harmoniously together.

As Peter climbed up the side of a building and looked for someone to help, his eyes could not help but stray to the Avengers Tower. He could see cranes around it as it was being repaired. How was his family? And Pops – the last time Peter saw him was when he tried to rip Peter from Venom’s hold – he must have been _devastated_.

“Forget about themmmm,” Venom hissed and Peter forced himself to look away. Venom easily pushed the thoughts aside from Peters mind. Had Peter been in the right frame of mind, he would have been freaking out over Venom’s ability to sway him but Peter did not care, which was probably also caused by Venom.

They patrolled the city and did a lot of people watching. It was mostly boring work that none of the excitement he thought of whenever he thought of superhero life.

It was hours before they came across the mugger.

Peter easily stopped him using the moves Aunt Tasha taught him. He wished she could see him, using it, and saving someone. For a brief second, he felt immensely proud of himself.

After that second had passed, Venom made his move.

Peter had pinned the man to the wall as he let the mugger’s victim escape. Peter’s stomach suddenly clenched and his claws jerked into the man’s flesh. The mugger cried out and Peter felt his mouth open and expand. He almost let Venom swallow the man until he remembered at the last minute that he was in control.

“STOP!” Peter screamed and they dropped the mugger. The man ran from them screaming. His black costume rippled with Venom’s agitation.

“Foooood,” Venom growled, watching the man go with immense dissatisfaction.

“ _No_ , you said we weren’t going to kill anymore!” Peter countered.

“That was not a kill. That was a feeding,” Venom reasoned.

Peter gasped, “ _It is still murder_!”

“He was bad. It was allowed.”

“NO! Where is the logic in that?? He still has basic human rights!”

“WE MUST FEED!” Venom screeched.

He felt Venom try to manipulate his emotions again, only this time Peter pushed back. He yelled, “NO! I will not eat another person! A superhero doesn’t do that! A hero saves people! A hero doesn’t hurt people!”

The black flesh rippled again and Peter felt it tighten around him and restrict his body’s movements. Venom filled his mind and took back control.

\---

As soon as Tony fell asleep, Steve slipped out of his arms and tucked him in. He took the vodka and chugged the contents down the sink. It was a hapless effort, Tony could easily get more but Steve felt better for doing it.

He cleaned up the lab the best he could. Most of the mess was around Tony with discarded food, empty glasses, and random notes on outlandish inventions that were created from his drunken state and could never work. He threw out the food, cleaned out the glasses in the sink and left them beside it to dry, and then stacked the notes into a neat pile and left them on his worktable.

Lastly, he secured Peter’s toy under Tony’s hand so it would not fall if he shifted.

Steve sat with his hand over Tony’s for a few minutes and watched his husband’s sleeping face. It was relaxed yet Tony’s grief had ingrained deeper lines around his red eyes and his mouth had seemingly been molded into a permanent frown. Steve reached out and lightly brushed his lips. Steve missed the smile that used to come so easily to Tony…he missed living in that time when they were happy…

Steve sighed lightly and adjusted the blanket on Tony one last time before standing up. He crossed the lab with a light tread and, when he exited, he made sure to close the door just as silently behind him.

Steve crossed the hall to Bruce’s lab to check on his friend. Bruce barely slept and ate as he worked tirelessly to find a solution. Steve had been taking care of both him, Tony, and Bucky the last few days and they were a needed distraction.

Bruce did not look up when Steve entered. The scientist was peering at his computer screen and was rubbing his head continuously as if he had a migraine. His face was gaunt and had dark circles under his eyes. He looked absolutely exhausted and Steve could not remember the last time he had seen him sleep. He was mumbling to himself and only once Steve was close enough was he able to distinguish what exactly he was saying.

“—won’t work, chemicals are too strong – maybe, no, no – then it’d be too weak…”

Steve sighed and lightly touched his friend’s shoulder. He whispered, “Bruce, you should take a nap.”

Bruce blearily blinked at Steve and murmured, “Steve? No, no can’t use Steve. Can’t sacrifice one for the other…” Bruce wearily turned back to his computer and Steve stared at hum dumbfounded.

Steve forcibly turned Bruce around and gasped, “ _What do you mean_?”

Bruce blinked several times, his eyes widening with every batted eyelid, and gasped, “You’re really here.”

“Yes, damnit! What did you mean Bruce?! Is there something I can do to save Peter?”

“Steve, we can’t possibly do it –,” Bruce gasped.

“What is it??” Steve demanded, shaking his friend violently.

“V-Venom and Peter,” Bruce gasped in explanation. “Th-the symbiote sample I analyzed…It’s not perfect, it’s flawed. They can probably never properly bond unless Peter completely accepts him.”

“Peter did,” Steve whispered, his voice and hope breaking.

“No, he didn’t.” Bruce easily slid out of his weaker grasp and turned to his computer. He opened a tab on his computer to an article entitled: “Vigilante or Villain?”

Steve leaned forward and quickly skimmed through the article about a would-be-hero stopping a mugger and then turning into a monster.

Bruce explained, “It happened last night. SHIELD sent me footage maybe an hour ago.” He opened another tab and a black rectangular box appeared with the sideways triangular symbol for play waiting to be pressed. Bruce pressed it without pause.

The footage seemed to come from a security camera and in the corner of the screen he saw movement down the alley across the street. He recognized it as a mugging but out of nowhere a new figure joined the fray and moved with a fighting style he had only seen in Natasha and –.

“Peter,” Steve whispered, drawing closer to the computer screen. It appeared to be a regular human in a black all-body suit but Steve knew it was Venom and Peter. They appeared to be working together. Venom never before moved with Peter’s grace. The symbiote had attacked like an animal and not with the graceful skill Natasha had taught his son.

Yet when Venom made his move to eat the mugger, his body exploded, and Steve saw Peter for half a second. Bruce paused the video and Steve could almost make out his son in the pixelated video.

“Peter stopped him,” Steve whispered, tracing his son’s form on the screen. He turned to Bruce and Steve clarified, “They _haven’t_ bonded! How do we separate them?? _What can I do to save my son?!_ ”

Bruce peered sadly up at Steve and Steve saw in his eyes a battle raging within in him. Bruce did not want to tell him. What did Steve have to sacrifice?

Finally, Bruce’s shoulders slumped in defeat and, without meeting Steve’s eyes, he answered, “Offer yourself to Venom as a willing host."

Steve felt like Bruce just dropped an anvil on his chest. He gasped, "...Wha-?"

"You and Peter share similar DNA and we have proof that Venom can survive off you…the symbiote will most likely take a willing host over an unwilling host. Sacrifice yourself and Venom will free Peter.”

Steve looked back to  the screen, frozen on the form of Venom’s hunched body.

An hour ago, Steve told himself he would do anything to help Tony and Peter.

Steve ran his fingers over the image on the screen. He easily detached himself from his emotions and self-preservation. He could feel them break away as effortlessly as tethers on a hot air balloon. Steve whispered, “Peter is my son. I love him and Tony dearly… When Tony – When Tony started to help me take care of Peter, he did not touch a drop of alcohol…and I think he will do it again, especially when he is Peter’s only guardian…”

“Steve –,” Bruce began with a pained expression.

Steve did not look away from the image on the screen and he interrupted Bruce, “This is the only way…you said so yourself. Peter is an innocent boy, he barely lived his life. I won’t let Venom take that away from him…”

“You’re barely lived your life yourself,” the older man argued.

Steve’s eyes flicker to Bruce and he smiled sadly at him. He whispered, “In the forties, the doctors originally projected I would die around this age…maybe the fates are intervening.”

“There has to be another way! Just give me a few more days! Think of Tony! Think of Peter! Think of all of us! This will destroy everyone!”

Steve stood and said, “Tony’s already destroying himself and Peter is trapped in Venom. I really think Tony will pull his act together for Peter. You’re Tony’s best friend. I know you will be there for him when I cannot.”

“You’re his _husband_ , Steve,” Bruce gasped, looking more wide awake than he had for the last week. “You are the love of his life! Y-You’re like the sun to him! Are you really going to take the light out of Tony’s life??”

Steve felt his eyes heat and he begged in a whisper, “Please, don’t make this any harder.”

“There has to be another way, Steve!”

“Then when you find it, you will save me from Venom,” Steve reasoned. “I would rather suffer a lifetime under Venom than let Peter be caught up in that monster another moment.”

“Steve…” Bruce gasped, his voice and his resolve breaking. He could not argue against Steve’s rational. How could Bruce agree to let Venom stay in Peter when Steve was willing to do it?

Steve stood and whispered, “I am going to find my son and free him.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally got a Tony POV in this chapter! Yay! :D

Steve planned to simply see Tony one last time. However, when he saw him, the plan revealed itself to be foolhardy.

Seeing the love of your life for possibly the last time was far from “simple.” He could barely breathe as he walked toward Tony’s slumbering form.

With his emotions running high, Steve knelt beside Tony’s side and lightly caressed his dirty hair. He leaned in and kissed Tony’s parted lips but did it lightly enough that it did not wake him. Tony murmured something under his breath and shifted slightly on the couch. It drew a sad smile to Steve’s lips and his fingers continued to caress the fringe of his scalp and the side of his face. His modest goodbye was done and he needed to go but he found himself unwilling to pull away.

“Steve, I – we—we – you can’t do this,” Bruce hissed behind him from the open door.

Steve swiftly but quietly stood and stalked over to Bruce before he could wake Tony. Steve whispered, “It’s the only option we have to save Peter right now.”

“There _has_ to be another way,” Bruce pleaded, stepping in front of him.

“You said it yourself Bruce…”

“B-But it’s just wrong!” Bruce gasped desperately.

“…Sir,” Jarvis interrupted both of them.

Steve’s head snapped up and he looked up to where the voice emanated with trepidation. He had forgotten about the AI. Jarvis was absolutely loyal to Tony, would he warn him of Steve’s intentions before he had the chance to slip away?

Tony stirred and his grip tightened on the toy Steve had left in his hands. Tony rubbed his eyes with his closed eyes with his free hand and he murmured, “What’s up, J?”

“Sir, I believe I may have found one of the subjects on your Priority List,” Jarvis stated and Tony sat up sharply.

“Who??” Tony demanded, his gaze was so sharp and clear that he looked almost completely sober.

“The cyborg: Mary Parker.”

“You found her?” Steve gasped.

“Actually, she found us,” Jarvis retorted dryly and a holo-screen opened above Tony’s workstation. The image displayed Mary standing on the ground floor. She was staring directly into the camera. Somehow she could see one of Jarvis’s near invisible cameras and was staring directly into its line of sight.

Tony leapt to his feet, clutching Peter’s tiny toy to his chest. He swayed as he was still drunk but his eyes were steady. Tony commanded, “Jarvis, run a scan on her. Make sure it really is her and she is not armed.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Tony’s eyes focused on the coffee machine and he added, “Make me a double shot too.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jarvis replied and the machine turned on with a light purr as the water heated. Tony stumbled over to it like a man on a mission. He continued to hold Peter’s toy as if it were an extension of his arm.

Steve smiled sadly at Tony. Mary brought with her a chance to help Peter and Tony was jumping at it. Steve was right. When push comes to shove, Tony would sober up if it meant helping their son.

Bruce grabbed his arm and hissed, “She might have the answers. Don’t go.”

Steve looked at his friend with a torn expression.

“But Peter –,” he gasped. Steve should find him and offer himself to Venom to spare Peter from his continuous suffering.

“Peter is going to need you more than ever. Please, give Mary a chance.”

Steve looked to the holo and stared at the blank expression on Mary’s face.

“We don’t even know where he is,” Bruce continued. “Stay here. Help us…Please, Steve.”

“…Alright, but as soon as we have a location on Venom –,” Steve began.

“Hear what she has to say,” Bruce implored, not agreeing one way or the other.

Tony came up to them and Steve dropped the subject. Tony held a cup of steaming coffee in one of his hands and the invention in the other. The coffee was already half gone.

“You need water more than coffee,” Steve commented and wondered when Tony had last had the said liquid.

“Coffee first,” Tony stated and Steve rolled his eyes. Tony continued, “Jarvis is directing Mary here.”

“And his scans?”

“It’s her,” Tony replied, his face growing stony. “You’re right. She isn’t human but an android. She does not have any weapons.”

“…What could she want?” Bruce wondered aloud. He did not mention Steve’s near martyrdom which Steve was immensely thankful for.

Steve relaxed a fraction when his friend did not reveal Steve ulterior plans. He shot Bruce a small but grateful smile. Bruce returned a wearied smile in return but his eyes held no trust, as if he expected Steve to run away as soon as his back was turned.

Tony did not notice the exchange as he seemed to finally notice the toy he had been clutching. He tucked it relevantly into the crook in his arm before looking back to Steve and Bruce.

Tony, almost sounding like his old self, cheerfully stated, “The way I see it, she only has two reasons to be here: she is here to help us or kill us.”

“Great…” Bruce sighed and Tony grinned for the first time in days.

\---

Steve managed to get the coffee cup out of Tony’s hands and a glass of water in its place before Mary reached the lab.

Before she entered, Steve positioned himself between the door and his teammates. His right hand twitched for his absent shield. For a moment, he felt nauseated and weak without it. It had never been far from his hand in all his battles but now it was gone. He clenched his fists and pushed aside the uneasy feelings. If he needed to fight his fists would do just fine.

Mary entered cautiously. She opened the door slowly and regarded the men before her with a steady stare. She was tense with square shoulders and her mouth was clenched in a hard, thin line.

“Mary,” Steve greeted her with a nod.

“Rogers,” she replied.

“…What are you doing here?” Steve asked, getting straight to the point.

She smirked and her gaze spanned over all three men before her. She stepped into the room stiffly and closed the door behind her. By the way she moved, Steve could tell something was wrong with her midsection. She had reattached the two halves of her body but it seemed to be not done properly. She was unable to stand up straight and had to lean a little to the left as she walked.

Mary paused as she looked around the room. Steve waited for her to answer his question. Eventually, her eyes settled back on him. Her expression was unreadable but her eyes were calculating as she studied him.

In due course, she stated, “I am here because you helped me when you did not have to and your son tried to save me even though he did not know me. I was showed compassion and now I wish to return the favor.”

“Peter –?” Steve whispered.

“His…spider-sense,” she explained. “He knew something bad was going to happen and instead of running away and saving himself, he ran to me and tried to save me.”

“So you’re here to help us?” Bruce gasped and Mary nodded her consent.

She stated, “I helped create the symbiote, maybe I can help destroy it.”

Bruce brushed past Steve as he rushed forward. He excitedly grasped Mary’s arm and said, “ _Come to my lab_! I have a sample from Venom and readings and—and we found some weaknesses and –.”

Mary waved her free hand for silence and Bruce complied. Mary stated, “Show me and then let me show you how we created the symbiote.”

The scientist and cyborg left Tony’s lab as Bruce began to tell her about the chemical make-up he found in the samples.

Tony walked up to Steve’s side and roped his arm into the crook of Steve’s arm. He leaned heavily into Steve’s side and excitedly whispered, “We haven’t lost our boy yet!”

Steve peered sadly at his husband and smiled lightly. He whispered, “Yes…and you haven’t even seen the video of Peter fighting back against Venom!”

Tony’s eyes widened and, with awe layering his voice, Tony asked, “Video??”

By way of answering, Steve said, “Jarvis, can you play back the video Bruce showed me?”

“Yes, Master Rogers,” the AI replied and the hologram over Tony’s workstation reappeared. Instead of Mary’s image it played back the grainy image of Venom stopping the mugger.

Tony stumbled over to the bench at the table and watched the video with rapt fascination. Steve placed himself behind Tony and wrapped his arms around him. He buried his nose in Tony’s dark hair and breathed him in. He inhaled deeply and tried to engrain his husband’s scent into his nostrils.

When the video ended, Tony tipped his head back into Steve’s chest so he could meet Steve’s gaze and grinned at him. Tony excitedly stated, “We’re not too late!”

Again, he smiled sadly in reply and Tony’s eyes narrowed.

“Ste—?” Was all Tony was able to get out before Steve bent his neck and silenced him with a kiss. He lightly traced his fingers up his throat and Tony’s Adam’s apple bobbed beneath his touch as he gulped. Tony readily returned the kiss, spurred on by his excitement for their son.

Tony twisted beneath him, keeping their lips connected, as he turned his body to toward Steve. He pushed himself into Steve and Steve took it as an invitation to continue.

He rubbed his hardening desire into Tony’s abdomen and his husband groaned into his mouth. Steve reached down, picked Tony up, and deposited him on the counter. Tony busily ripped at Steve’s clothing, his lust, driven by intoxication, seemingly erased from his mind whatever he was going to ask Steve.

When they were both devoid of shirts, Steve put a single hand on Tony’s chest and pushed him down. Tony laid back, flexing his arms over his head, and wrapping his legs around Steve’s waist.

Steve dragged his hand down Tony’s abs then grabbed onto the front of his jeans right where it was fastened together then paused. Steve let his guilt distract him for only a few seconds before returning his attention to the man he was so madly in love with. He let all his inhibitions go and let his mind grow hazy with lust. Steve was being selfish but he desperately wanted to make love to Tony one last time…

Despite Bruce’s arguments, as soon as Venom reappeared, Steve planned to offer himself to the symbiote and save their son.

\---

Between the emotional turmoil of forever losing his son, being drunk, Mary coming and offering to help Bruce, and then Steve making love to him in a frenzy, Tony unsurprisingly fell asleep once his husband was done with him.

When Tony woke, he woke with a clearer mind that was quick to examine the events that transpired before he fell asleep. The effects of the alcohol in his system were mostly gone and the slight headache it left him with could be cured with some aspirin.

He was alone in his lab and on the couch. Tony sat up and grinned down at his nude body and the blanket draped modestly over his hips. He knew for a fact that it was not there before.

Steve was too cute. He had to remember to tease him about it later.

He frowned and readjusted the thought.

The teasing could wait until Peter was safe and sound in his own bed.

Tony stretched with a light moan then stood and let the blanket fall. There was no need for modesty when the only eyes watching him were that of his robots and they’d seen him in worse conditions. He strolled over to his workbench and another smile tugged at his lips when he saw his clothes had been picked up and neatly folded into a pile. A small container of aspirin and a full water bottle also sat next to the attire.

“Love you too, Steve,” Tony murmured in thanks to his absent husband. He grabbed the aspirin and the water bottle first and quickly swallowed a few pills with a quick swig. He dressed quickly and wondered how long he had been asleep. He felt refreshed and wondered if he missed anything.

One dressed, he picked up the water bottle and threw back his head to finish it in several more quick gulps.

He tossed the empty bottle over his shoulder as he left the lab. Dummy would pick it up or set it ablaze, either way it would be disposed of.

Tony strode straight to Bruce’s lab and went through the door like a man on a mission. Steve was not there but Bruce and Mary were huddled together at a holo-screen, looking at readings.

Tony’s eyes immediately focused on the android and his gaze narrowed.

Under the influence of alcohol, he had been easy to trust the robot but now he is in the _right_ mind.

The robot could help but it _cannot_ be trusted.

“What have I missed?” Tony asked gruffly. Now that he knew she was a machine, he was able to see the little things that differentiated her from living organisms. Her pupils were constantly the same size and did not change under the varying lights, her movements were not as fluid as a human’s, and Tony bet if he touched her, her flesh would hold no warmth.

“Just sharing information,” Bruce replied. “Mary was able to recite the _exact_ formulas that went in to making Venom!”

“Because she helped create it,” Tony affirmed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“…I assisted the Goblin,” Mary replied.

“And are you still assisting him?” Tony asked. Bruce stiffened noticeably and shifted slightly from Mary’s side.

The android glared at him and replied, “No.”

“And tell me, ‘ _Mary_ ,’ why should I believe you? You helped create this monster and you delivered it to my son. And now you expect us to believe you have had a change of heart? I really doubt it since you don’t even have a heart…”

Mary frowned and retorted, “I had been programed with emotions to seem more human and make it easier to gain your trust.” Tony scoffed and rolled his eyes. A muscle in Mary’s jaw twitched and she continued, “I felt guilt.”

“So after gaining our trust, deceiving my son so he thought you were his biological mother, and then practically killing him all because a big green fairy tale creature told you to…you suddenly are starting to feel a little remorseful.”

“It is horrible,” she hissed.

“It is _human_.”

“I CAN’T STAND IT!” Mary roared, slamming her fists into the counter. Bruce backed away from her sudden outburst and stared at her with wide eyes. Tony just felt justifiably smug until she continued, “ _You did not see the boy’s eyes_ …He loved me as soon as he looked at me. It was so – _so_ _powerful_. I was rooted to the spot. I even forgot my mission for a second until Dr. Calvin – the Chameleon – my master, reminded me. I knew the mission was my priority and I kept him there but I could not look away from his eyes and see that unconditional _love_ …Th-Then I had to watch that love crumble as Venom consumed him. This is more than guilt, Stark. It’s what you humans call…heartbreak, isn’t it?”

Anger was broiling under the surface of his skin, threatening to consume him in a righteous fire. This machine did not deserve any of Peter’s love. Tony wanted to fry her circuits just for speaking of it.

But he held back.

The robot owed them retribution but not now. No, right now it was going to help them find a way to save Peter.

Tony icily stated, “This feeling won’t just leave if you find a solution for separating Peter from Venom. And, if you betray us, the guilt would exponentially worsen. Still, guilt is a tricky thing. It lingers and festers. Even when a wrong is righted it does not disappear.”

Mary’s face dropped as she openly experienced fear.

Tony growled, “Also, I don’t want you to think we will easily forgive you if you somehow find a solution. You will need to do much more in order to gain it and maybe get rid of that guilt.”

Tony spun around to leave and look for his husband but paused upon Mary’s retort.

“What else can I do?” She asked him hoarsely.

Tony considered her question and was very tempted in replying with a tart, sarcastic remark. Instead, he held his tongue. He looked over his shoulder to the broken cyborg, crippled by a broken body and unnatural emotions. He replied, “For the rest of your existence, do whatever it is in your power to make Peter happy for the rest of his life. Only then, maybe, the guilt will abate.”

Tony turned back around before he could see the answering emotion on the android’s face.

He went back to his lab and gazed around it. His mind was abuzz with possibilities and he was already drawing up schematics for possible machinery Bruce might need. At the moment he was thinking of possible cure drug deliveries: liquid (some kind of injecting system), gaseous (a ventilation system), etc. If they came up with a solution to destroy Venom, Tony wanted to be prepared.

“Jarvis, am I sober enough for you to unlock my tools?” Tony asked, his fingers itching to build the precursors to his imagined inventions. He certainly felt sober enough but it was up to his AI and his scans to determine the truth of the matter. He could almost feel as Jarvis’s invisible scans raked his body and everything was scrutinized from the way he held himself to the beat of his heartbeat. Most importantly, he did not move and breathed evenly to make it easier for the vents to isolate his breath from the other air particles as it measured his sobriety levels.

“Yes, Sir,” Jarvis asserted.

Tony’s lab became a little brighter as things hummed to life and various bulbs and holograms began to glow. Dummy chirped happily and zoomed out of his charging station upon the labs reawakening. The robot zoomed around aimlessly and Tony smirked as he wondered how many more seconds it would take for Dummy to knock something over.

Tony took a step toward his workstation when Jarvis added, “Sir..?”

Tony froze then looked up and cautiously replied, “Jarvis?”

Tony was instantly wary. The AI was hesitant and that could only mean he had sensitive information that his master needed to hear but he most likely did not want to know. Tony’s thoughts instantly went to Peter and he feared him dead.

“Sir, Dr. Banner found a solution to freeing Master Parker but he is unwilling to use it because it is a dangerous and martyrish one…”

Tony’s first reaction was to bristle with indignation. Bruce had a cure already?? Why hasn’t he said anything?? Then he processed the rest of Jarvis’s words and his anger dropped significantly.

“Martyr…” Tony whispered, the word left his mouth sluggishly but its implications made his spine tingle uncomfortably.

What was Bruce planning? Had he found a solution that was deadly to whoever wielded it? Or, perhaps, since he was the only other person with gamma-radiated blood, maybe the solution was in his body and he was going to sacrifice himself for Peter?

“Jarvis, tell me everything Bruce plans to do _and then some_. Has he already hurt himself to get this solution? And I want all his lab reports… and I want to know every move he makes, and—.”

“Sir,” Jarvis interrupted him. “It is not Dr. Banner who will be in danger.”

Tony relaxed marginally. Good, then it must have been the first option. Whoever wielded the answer would be putting themselves in danger…But why wouldn’t Bruce ask for his help? Tony could probably come up with something technology wise to help somehow…

Tony thoughts came to an immediate thought when Jarvis continued, “It is Master Rogers, Sir. Dr. Banner believes that Venom would choose him as a host over Master Parker if he were more willing. He believes their DNA is similar enough that Venom could survive off him as well, seeing how the smaller pieces of the symbiote survived off him for that short time period. He told Master Rogers this and Master Rogers expressed willingness to do this. Ultimately, Master Parker would be free from Venom, however, Master Rogers will be trapped.”

“Choose…Martyr…Oh my God,” Tony gasped as his usual quick mind was slow on the uptake. Steve. Steve his glorious, noble, self-sacrificing husband…he would do it.

It hurt more than it should have to ixnay a way to save Peter but Tony could not lose one of the most important people in his life to save another just as important person. And if it did not work and Tony lost both of them, he really doubted he could go on living. Losing Peter had nearly destroyed him. He could not imagining surviving if he lost Steve too.

And if it did work? Tony’s heart twisted in his chest until it was wound into a compressed lump of muscle. He would wish that fate on no one, nonetheless _his_ _husband_! Just imagining Steve hurt usually upset Tony but imagining this – Tony felt like his stomach acids were eating him alive at the mere thought.

He could not let Steve do this! There had to be another solution! Tony refused to live in a world without both _his son and husband_!

“Wh-Where is he now?” Tony garbled. When he did not see Steve in either lab, he did not think much on it. He had assumed he went to their apartment to take a shower or change clothes. But what if..?

“He is checking in on Master Barnes,” Jarvis replied and Tony released a deep breath that he had not realized he had been holding. He was not too late.

“ _Do not_ let him leave that floor,” Tony commanded, already sprinting to the elevator. He continued, more to himself than Jarvis, “I swear to God, I am not losing another person I love to that monster… _Even if it’s the last thing I do_!”

\---

Venom was dying.

His host was rejecting him but Venom could not leave. He would die without his host. BUT his host would not work with him and eat the proper nutrients Venom needed!

The irony of the entire situation was not lost on the symbiote. It seemed he was fated to die if he stayed or left his host.

The only way they could feed was if Venom was in control. But Venom was a symbiote. He was supposed to only provide his host with the additional strength of his dark body. In return, his host was supposed to feed him. By taking control, Venom was depleting strength that was never supposed to be used.

They were supposed to work in tandem and, because they were not, it ate away at both of them.

_And the foolish boy still refused to eat!_

**_FOOD_!**

_No_! Venom was no longer primitive. He had evolved. He was cunning. He could turn this around.

So Venom told his host of their impending demise, he frightened the boy, but the boy countered with thoughts of his sire’s bravery and wanting to emulate him. Images of the sire, younger, smaller, and weaker, came to his mind and his host felt reassured by them.

Venom tried to trick him but the shadow of the boy’s adoptive parent stood up in his host’s mind and battled Venom in wits and mocked his trickery.

Venom tried to press upon his emotions…but the boy now knew what he was doing and he knew he could fight back. Whenever Venom tried to turn his will, all his host needed to do was think of being safe in the warm embrace of his sire, his adoptive father, his uncles, or aunts, and their love was strong enough that, in his weakened state, Venom could not break through.

The boy would not budge.

Within his host’s mind, thoughts of his host’s family battled against Venom’s tactics. The memory of the super-humans acted as a shield and provided a hopeful resolve in the boy that was going to be their downfall.

"I'd rather die a hero than live as a monster," his host reasoned and Venom screamed in frustration.

In the end, his only option left to him was to use the helpful trait he had absorbed from his host: the boy's intelligence. So Venom dug deep into the boy’s mind and he solely thought for a solution. He turned over the limited options available to him and tried to think of a new way to twist them into his favor.

In time, he came to an evident conclusion.

The Goblin.

The creature was his creator and, just maybe, he could be his savior as well…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Steve: "He was willing to do anything at this point to save Tony and Peter. Anything."  
> Tony: "I am not losing another person I love to that monster...Even if it's the last thing I do!"  
> Peter: "I'd rather die a hero than live as a monster."
> 
> My chess pieces are set and every single member of the superfamily is willing to risk it all. But, in the end, which chess piece will end this game, and at what cost?
> 
> A few more chapters to go until the conclusion to My Son!


	10. Chapter 10

Sitting with Bucky in the kitchen the former KGB agents shared, Steve could see that Bucky was finally doing better. As the week passed, his friend improved slowly yet steadily. Now Bucky was talking again and asking what he could do to help.

However, there was now a downward hunch to his shoulders that was never there before and his gaze was clouded, as if he were not completely there with them. Even his voice had lost its usual tenor. It was like Peter had taken a piece of Bucky with him and Bucky had barely survived the amputation.

“Nat and I are going to check the sewers,” Bucky whispered, his eyes were fixated on the black tea Natasha had brewed him. He had yet to touch it and the steam that had originally floated on its surface had long since dissipated.

Steve nodded and said, “Good. You two will probably pick up more than anyone else…”

“We’re not going if James doesn’t consume any liquids today,” Natasha murmured, sliding next to Bucky. She placed a bowl of oatmeal and a mug of tea in front of her. She began to eat leisurely but her shoulders were rigidly set in a way that spoke volumes to her lover.

Bucky immediately started sipping at his cold tea without complaint.

Steve leaned into his elbow and peered at the both of them with a small smile. Years prior, he would have never thought the two of them being together was possible. Yet, Natasha had opened her once locked up heart and Bucky readily let her into his fragile trust. They were a quiet couple and did not openly show affection but, when they looked at each other, their gazes showed the true depths of their love for each other.

The couple shared one of those looks now. They lost the masks of the unfeeling assassins and unbridled warmth flowed between their eyes. Steve smiled sweetly at his friends. Bucky had come to the tower with only Steve as his anchor to his sanity but now he had Natasha for an anchor. No, she was stronger than an anchor that could be moved at the tug of a chain. She was more permanent like a firmly built beam at the center of a bridge, standing immobile and tall while being supported by cables, girders, arches, concrete, steel, and such. Nothing would move her from his side.

It was one less person who needed Steve.

As if he were projecting his thoughts, it was that moment that Tony charged into the apartment.

They heard his hurried footsteps before they saw him. Both assassins sprung to their feet and turned to the noise. The warmth that was in their eyes seconds prior was replaced by cold, detached, and calculating gazes.

Tony entered the kitchen looking both irate and petrified.

Bucky and Natasha visibly relaxed but Steve heart dropped and his thoughts immediately went to their lost son. He got to his feet and gasped, “What happened?”

Tony stalked up to him then grabbed the front of his shirt and demanded, “ _How could you not tell me?!_ _I love him too but I would NEVER do this to you!_ ”

Steve understood immediately and winced. He lightly covered Tony’s fists with both of his hands and whispered, “Who told you? Bruce? Or Jarvis?”

“Jarvis,” Tony answered icily. “Because apparently my best friend and my husband are in cahoots when trying to freaking break my heart.”

“… _Don’t say that_ ,” Steve pitifully gasped and squeezed Tony’s fists, Tony had yet to relinquish his grip on Steve’s shirt. Tony was trembling and his gaze was so stormy that he could not tell if it was from anger or fear. Steve glanced at the other two, the couple were staring at them with open curiosity. He turned back to Tony and whispered, “Look at you. Just yesterday you were so drunk you could barely stand on your own two feet. If just the knowledge that Peter could be saved would do this to you, then Peter here, _alive_ with you should be determent enough to keep you from drinking again…even if I was gone.”

“ _Steve,_ ” Tony groaned. His head tipped forward and he buried his face in Steve’s chest, right between his clenched fists. He hissed, “ _You’re my husband_! You can’t possibly think losing you would mean _nothing_ to me!”

“I didn’t think that,” Steve murmured gently. He wrapped his arms around Tony and whispered, “I know it would hurt but Peter would have saved you…”

Tony shook his head against his chest.

“S-Steve?” Bucky gargled as he staggered back to the stool he had been sitting on previously.

Steve looked back to the other two and Natasha demanded, “What were you and Bruce planning??”

“It was me, not Bruce,” Steve quickly explained on behalf of their friend. “We think Venom might be able to bond with me too and he might leave Peter if I were a more willing host.”

“Y-Y-You can’t do that,” Bucky gasped, his face growing pale.

“If it means saving Peter –,” Steve began and Bucky’s parlor became grey.

“ _You are not doing it_!” Tony hissed, his head snapping back up. He glared at Steve with such an intensity that it made Steve wince.

Steve glanced at the other two and hoarsely said to them, “Pl-Please, excuse us.”

Steve dragged Tony to the elevator and Bucky tried to follow but his legs shook too much for him to do so. He fell back onto his barstool and Natasha hovered to his side, looking concerned.

Once the doors sealed behind them, Tony hissed, “You are not doing it and that’s final! Swear to me you will not sacrifice yourself!”

Steve cupped his husband’s face and begged, “Tony – Tony I can’t – I—.”

“If you love me, you would swear it,” Tony demanded, his fingers digging into Steve’s chest as his grip returned to strangle his shirt. Steve’s gaze constricted and skewed so he only focused on Tony and everything else around them blurred.

Steve whispered, “Don’t make me choose between you two.”

“I’m asking you to choose _us_ , Steve,” Tony whispered. “ _All three of us_. We can’t be a family without you.”

“And we can’t be that version of _us_ without Peter…” Steve countered, lightly stroking the side of Tony’s face. His voice dropped below a whisper and he hovered closer to him, their faces only centimeters apart as he said, “Tony, I want to save Peter from anymore suffering. If Bruce and Mary find a cure then they can use it on me but if not…if not – then I will sacrifice myself for him.”

Tony’s eyes became glassy and he gasped, “If you are bonded to Venom and keep killing th-then we will have t-to – SHIELD will –.”

“Kill me,” Steve finished for him. “…Yes, I know that is a possibility. Yet I would rather die than willingly let Peter die instead.”

Tony peered up at him with large doe eyes and looked like a small, frightened child. He hissed, “In the end, I lose someone I love…” Steve’s bottom lip trembled when he heard the belittled tone to Tony’s voice. Tony himself was trembling and shaking his head back and forth. He shakily gasped, “ _I refuse_. I refuse to lose you too.”

“Tony…What would you have me do? How else can we save Peter?” Steve wrapped his arms tightly around his husband and felt him tremble more violently beneath his touch. With a shuddering gasp, Steve begged, “ _What else would you have me do?_ ”

\---

Norman Osborn had to dig his nails into his flesh and draw blood to keep from laughing aloud at the SHIELD agents. They came to his tower with a warrant to search the labs Mary occupied and did not even try to search his own personal labs serval floors below. Had they checked his labs they would have found the Goblin Formula and gamma-radiation devices.

The idiots did not suspect him.

Once the buffoons left, Norman destroyed all the evidence. They were clearly too worried about the boy to truly consider Norman’s role in the matter. In fact, no one had approached him for questioning, not even one of the Avengers. Their number one priority was finding Venom and “curing” the boy, and it was a bad mistake.

Yet Mary’s lab was in Oscorp and the boy had originally been found in one of his “abandoned” labs. He knew it was only a matter of time before their suspicions were cast back to him.

Norman was ready with the exception of one little problem: the robotic clone of Mary Parker was missing. It was the last piece of evidence tying Norman to this dismal failure of an experiment. What’s worse, this evidence could talk.

Norman never revealed his true identity to the robot or, its master, the Chameleon. To explain his access to Oscorp, he told them he was a confidant of Norman Osborn. And he revealed to the cyborg that his transformation was due to Oz, a compound made in the Oscorp labs…

It was too much information linking the Goblin to Norman.

He reviewed the footage of that damning day countless times. Venom devoured the robot, spit it out in two pieces, eventually the Captain woke and, for some reason, he gave it tools to fix itself. The robot was quick to fix itself and was even quicker to get out of the tower and out of Norman’s reach.

Where it went…he had no idea. The Chameleon made it specifically to help Norman with his endeavor. But with the endeavor completed what would the robot do now?

The Chameleon had gone into hiding but Norman quickly contacted him through the usual channels and learned that the robot was not with him.

What would a robotic clone with no purpose do?

Norman growled in frustration.

None of this was going according to plan…

Originally, the boy was to have no part in Norman’s life.

Hydra had contacted him, needing labs and scientists to conduct their experiments. Norman had worked with them before so saw no problem with their experiments involving the remains of Captain America. In fact, Norman was fascinated by it. Every single biological engineer and scientist in the modern world wondered at the mystery of the Super Soldier serum and many had tried and failed to replicate it.

Norman assisted Hydra and initially did so to learn as much as he could in the hopes to reproduce whatever they learned. At first, the experiments were dismal failures. The Super Soldier’s samples led them nowhere and ended up killing their test subjects…until they decided to go the old fashion route and produce the Super Soldiers via Steve Rogers’ sperm and an unfertilized egg.

Norman was a well-known figure in the science community around the world so he put forth the names of the most intelligent women he knew. Mary Parker, had not only been intelligent, but was an undercover SHIELD agent in his company. Presenting her name had been a win-win situation for Norman.

Norman had a hand in splicing all the fetuses’ DNA with gamma-radiated DNA. This, coupled with finding the women to carry the Super Soldier’s offspring, led to him heading the project.

At first, it was glorious. The fetuses were growing and showing signs of being more evolved than everyday-humans. He thought he had finally done it, he had finally found the key to solving the mystery of the Super Soldier serum.

He got his wife pregnant at the same time and planned to use the baby born as a comparison to the gamma-radiated babies. Maybe even test future serums on his child as well…

But then, one by one, his subjects started to die.

The first two fetuses died in the womb, killing the mothers along with them. The third killed itself, its mother, and the entire team assigned to it upon its birth. The fourth would have been perfect but it was not born deformed, with its spine exposed. It did not survive long outside of its mother.

That left his last hopes with the fifth, who happened to be growing within one Mary Parker. The woman was the hardest to capture and the hardest to keep imprisoned. SHIELD taught her more than science and spying. She could fight, evade, and escape. Had she not been pregnant, she might have actually succeeded in getting away.

When the boy had been born she actually had the gall to ask to see him. Norman shot her in the head himself and let Hydra dispose of the body.

The subject was named “Spiderman” since his DNA was spliced with that of a gamma-radiated spider’s, though Norman never used the ridiculous name. “The boy” was name enough for him.

Harry was born a few months later but Norman did not find as much excitement in his birth. Harry was remarkably average. Normally sized and screamed like a banshee whenever he wanted something.

The Hydra scientists introduced painfully shocks to their specimen whenever he cried and he quickly learned to shut up. Norman wished he could have done the same to his own son and reclaimed more sleep.

As the boy grew, he showed remarkable progress and powers. Hydra excitedly whispered about finally being able to destroy Captain America. Norman would have no part in it their inane plans of revenge. It did nothing to further his research.

Eventually, Norman stepped back from the project and let the Hydra scientists have their fun but he always kept an eye on the boy and his progress. The boy was his greatest creation and, one day, he might be of use to Norman. But at his young age and the years it would take him to mature, Norman had no patience to babysit. He had enough to deal with, with Harry, especially after his wife died.

Yet after the fall of Hydra and the discovery of his lab, Norman distanced himself from the project and pushed aside all his dreams of using the boy. He was in SHIELD and the Avengers’ hands. Norman saw no point in trying to take him back. He had gotten what he originally wanted, to crack the Super Soldier mystery, and he was satisfied.

Until SHIELD made a fatal mistake.

SHIELD used both Oscorp and Stark Industries as they were rebuilding. He had been under the impression that his company would merge with the spy organization and he would be heading its new weapons division. But SHIELD changed its mind. They said Norman was too unstable and his ideas were too radical. They dropped him and his company. As soon as the rest of the world heard SHIELD was no longer interested in Oscorp, the share prices in his company dropped significantly.

They almost had to declare bankruptcy. Norman had to call in favors to save his company and fortune. And to top it all off, SHIELD kept Stark Industries _and_ Tony Stark. Tony Stark: the drunk, playboy, unpredictable maniac. _They kept that faggot over Norman_.

SHIELD made him look weak and no one makes Norman Osborn look weak.

_No one._

So he turned to his pet project: recreating the super soldier serum. Over the years, he had dabbled with the same gamma-radiation that had perfected the boy. He had not been looking to create a Super Soldier from pregnancy this time however. He was trying to make one from a perfectly normal human, like himself (though Norman was in no way normal, his vast intellect put him way above the inane populace). He originally was going to test it on his son but his boy had no intelligence. It would have been wasteful on him.

Thus the Goblin was born and he began to plan his revenge.

His plans immediately returned to the boy. He had befriended Norman’s son and through Harry he learned of the boy’s intellect and his growing powers. The boy was his creation and thereby his son. He deserved to be by Norman’s side. After his years of research, Norman knew the boy could become stronger and would be a great ally. The boy had the strength but no bite…which led to the creation of Venom.

Norman gritted his teeth. The Venom experiment had failed but he could still push forward with his plan. In fact, maybe he could use this monster to his advantage?

“Dad?”

Venom was a beast now. He could influence it like a trainer would do a lion. Use human victims to lead him where he would do the most damage to SHIELD.

“ _Dad_?” Harry whined.

Normans eyes snapped up and his glared at his pathetic excuse for a progeny. Harry, an average boy with none of his intellect. Peter was smart and, with time, his intelligence could have measured up to Norman’s. In that regard, he had been more of a son to Norman than his own flesh and blood. Harry would amount to nothing and Norman was reminded of this every time he looked at him and his naïve eyes.

Harry flinched when his eyes landed on him. Harry clenched his fists and asked, “I’m sorry to disturb you, b-but can you come see something in m-my room?”

Norman narrowed his eyes and bit out, “Why?”

Harry started to shake and said, “P-Please?”

Norman stared at the boy and wondered what had happened. Harry knew not to disturb him when he was in his office. He also knew he should not approach Norman with trivial matters and was to wait until Norman asked him of his needs.

He studied his son, taking in his apparent fear, his shaking, the way his head was drooped, and how he kept looking over his shoulder.

“Who else is here, Harry?” Norman asked, leaning back into his chair as he continued to scrutinize his young son. His skin took on a green tint but, as he was sitting in a dark room, he doubted his son would notice. He hid his hands under the desk as they elongated into long claws.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, fighting back tears, and gasped, “I-It’s a monster.”

Norman’s eyes focused on the black mass that he originally thought to be his son’s shadow. The answered dawned on him and he smiled.

“There’s no need for theatrics, Venom. How did you find me?”

Did the symbiote come here by chance? No, it was not possible. It had to know he was the Goblin. But how? And why was it here? Did it want to restart the fight that had begun in the sewers? Was it staking out territory and saw him as a threat?

Venom grew out of the shadow and hunched menacingly behind Harry.

The symbiote looked weaker. It had shrunk since Norman last saw it in the sewers and its inky skin had a slight grey hue. Its cheeks and ribs were hallowed in, as if it were starving. It glared at Norman with calculating and clever eyes.

Venom hissed, “I followed your sssscent.”

Norman did not let a muscle twitch as he absorbed this information. The symbiote had heightened senses in addition to strength. He had not formulate that, interesting…

“How can I help you?” Norman asked. The symbiote was there for a reason and Norman was not going to beat around the bush.

“My host will not bond. The foolish boy refuses to eat. You created me. Now you will help me or I will devour your son.”

He put a threatening hold on Harry’s shoulder. His son flinched from the touch and began to cry in earnest.

Norman’s grin curled as he stared at the symbiote. It was hungry like when Norman last saw him but last time he could only say “Food.” The symbiote was now articulate and could form proper sentences. He also was clearly smart enough to know to come to Norman for help and knew it could get results by threatening his only child.

With his mind racing with possibilities and new plans, Norman threaded his fingers in front of him and stated, “I’ll be happy to help, Venom. After all, we are family.”

\---

Tony would not leave Steve’s side and it was driving the super soldier up the wall.

_He even followed him into the bathroom._

“Are you really going to watch me pee?” Steve asked his husband incredulously.

Tony shrugged as he leaned against the counter and said, “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before.”

Steve rolled his eyes and looked away from Tony so he could focus on emptying his bladder. It was harder to do with an audience and, after a few seconds, he blushed and asked, “Can you please look away?”

Tony smirked but complied and Steve felt comfortable enough to carry on with his business. Once done, he flushed the toilet and bumped into Tony’s side as he went to the sink.

As he washed his hands, Steve asked, “Is this your plan to save me? Being my shadow?”

“Yes,” Tony replied.

Steve sighed and was tempted to start their argument all over again. But then he looked at the shorter man and all his arguments dwindled away.

He did not want to fight with Tony. Steve did not know if he would still be around tomorrow…

So, after he dried off his hands, Steve faced his husband. Tony squared his shoulders, expecting the argument to ensue, but, instead, Steve embraced him. Tony tensed for a second then relaxed into his hold and returned the hug.

“I love you,” Steve murmured into Tony’s scalp.

Tony’s fingers tightened into his flesh and he whispered, “Don’t say it like it’s the last time you’re saying it…”

Steve peered sadly down at his lanky form but did not reply to his comment.

After a few minutes, they parted reluctantly and Steve cupped the side of Tony’s face. He whispered, “Please, can you say it back?”

Tony’s face pinched as he fought off grief and he reached up to hold Steve’s face. He whispered, “I love you too, Steve. You and I… _You and I_ are going to grow old together and fret over Peter and his children and his children’s children.”

“We’re going to be really old by then if we’re fretting over our great-grandchildren,” Steve commented with a sad grin.

“And I’m going to still love you just as much as I love you right now,” Tony promised.

Steve closed his eyes and imagined him and Tony as old men, leaning into each other and sharing mutual smiles as they watched young versions of Peter running around.

“That sounds beautiful,” Steve whispered and leaned into Tony so he would not see his tears.

It truly sounded lovely and he hated that he will most likely never experience it.

\---

Tony was using every ounce of mental strength not to take a drink, not even a single shot of liquid courage. Tony knew where exactly in the lab where his hidden alcohol was and the knowledge burned into him like an old Scottish whiskey. Despite his dry mouth and tight throat, Tony was not going to inhibit himself in any way.

It had been late by the time he and Steve settled down for bed. Tony continued to persistently keep close to Steve’s side. Steve kept rolling his eyes but he did not push Tony away.

They shared a shower, got dressed together, used the same mirror as they brushed their teeth, and then Tony latched onto Steve’s side as they lay down for bed.

“I’m not going to slip away in the middle of the night,” Steve murmured as Tony wrapped his arm tightly around the front of Steve’s bare chest.

In between Steve’s shoulder blades, Tony inhaled the clean smell of soap which lingered on his flesh from their earlier shower. He whispered into his skin, “Not taking any chances.”

Tony’s fingers dug into Steve’s chest and Steve placed his hand over Tony’s and squeezed it lightly.

“…I hope that when we wake in the morning this all turned out to be a long, horrible dream,” Steve whispered on a heavy but sleepy sigh. Tony buried his face into Steve’s back and blocked his vision.

“Me too,” Tony whispered. “…Me too.”

It took Steve a while to fall asleep. Tony could almost feel his dark thoughts as they weighed down on his husband’s shoulders. Only once his muscles relaxed and his breathing evened out, did he know Steve to have finally succumbed to his exhaustion.

Tony had been sleeping so much the last few days that he doubted he would fall asleep. Instead, he spent his time studying his husband. In his hold, the younger man was sleeping peacefully with heavy limbs and soft muscles.

Steve had been hurt many times throughout the years and should have had scars riddling his body but his skin was flawless. Steve’s back encumbered his vision and was huge and rippled with muscles strong enough to lift thousands of pounds. But even with all his strength, Steve had the gentlest touch with which he had lovingly rocked Peter to sleep and could make sweet, tender love to Tony. This back, which glowed under the luminosity of Tony’s arc reactor, was strong but the man it held was even stronger in spirit and heart…

Tony ran his fingers along the panes of Steve’s muscles and traced the familiar paths that he had ingrained into his very psyche. He could easily picture this back if he closed his eyes and, if he had the artistic skill, could sculpt it perfectly from memory.

Tony could not leave his side because he knew as soon as he did Steve would martyr himself and Tony could not lose him…even if it meant maybe losing Peter.

He let his mind drift, thinking only dark thoughts and his stomach churned unpleasantly.

No, Tony would not get any sleep that night.

In his mind, he reviewed the video Steve had showed him. It was grainy and Venom had been filmed from a distance away making it harder to see. For only a few seconds, Peter’s form had been seen but…did it truly mean he had fought back? One possibility was that he had but Tony had been thinking about another very grim possibility.

Venom might be faltering because he was dying without a host. His host was used up…Peter could be dead.

Tony crushed his eyes closed and fought to keep his breath from shuddering.

The last time Tony had seen Peter was over a week ago. In the single day Venom had him, his son had been reduced to skin and bones. Another day would have killed him and so much more time has passed.

The whole reason Tony had started drinking was because he had come to this conclusion and did not know how to tell Steve.

The video though…was it possible Peter still lived or were Tony’s fragile hopes trying to reason the impossible into an improbable possible?

He wrestled with the morbid thoughts and hopes as he stared at Steve’s back and measured his breaths.

Steve was tangible. Steve was alive. Steve was the center of his universe and Tony came to the horrific conclusion that he must do all that was within his power to save him.

Later, hours into the night and Tony’s musings, the lights in their room turned on and the alarm started to go off.

Steve shot up in the bed as the alarms blared and the lights turned on. Tony rose with him, keeping his hand on his back.

Tony recognized the alarm as being an outside priority and was somewhat gratified that the current tower reconstruction would not need additional construction.

“There is an attack at SHIELD HQ. They are requesting the Avengers’ assistance,” Jarvis informed them.

Steve tensed beneath his touch and asked, “Is it…?”

Steve’s voice trailed off but Jarvis easily guessed what he was asking, The AI stated, “It is the combined forces of the Goblin and Venom.”

Steve jerked then scrambled out of bed. Tony quickly followed and the floor on his bedside opened up and the Iron Man uniform rose to meet him.

“Jarvis, have Bruce and Mary found a solution?” Tony asked, keeping all emotion from his voice. Behind him, he heard Steve pause in his dressing as he waited for the answer.

“No, Sir,” Jarvis replied.

Tony stared straight ahead, refusing to look at Steve as he mutely returned to changing into his uniform. Without a doubt, Tony knew Steve was thinking of the one solution he thought left to them.

Tony could not turn around and meet his eyes. He knew if he saw the painful truth in that blue gaze he would crumble. His armor was on in in less than a minute and he did not turn for a quick kiss like he usually did. His face shield dropped and he opened a private line with Jarvis. He commanded his AI to open the balcony doors and when they opened, Tony blasted out of the room without looking back at Steve.

Tony closed his eyes and let Jarvis fly him on autopilot. He pictured Steve, from minutes prior, as he slept, relaxed, serene and in Tony’s arms.

His breathing shuddered and, with that image in his mind’s eye, Tony made one of the most painful decisions in his life.

“…Jarvis,” Tony whispered, his voice hoarse and barely distinguishable. Tears started to leak from his sealed eyes and began to run down his cheeks but he refused to open his eyes to make his crying easier. The tears was going to damage some of the circuitry in his mask but he did not care in the slightest. Tony gasped, “Bruce’s experiments showed that the symbiote could not stand heat…H-How hot did it get until it jumped off Steve? …Can my repulsors handle it?”

“…Yes, Sir, maximum thrust should be able to do it but it will require both hand repulsors, at full charge, for full body removal…” Jarvis paused like the AI always did when delivering bad news. It was a long pause, longer than most, and Tony patiently waited. Jarvis eventually continued, “Sir, such heat on the human body, even with his healing abilities, I don’t think Master Parker –.”

“Do not say another word, Jarvis,” Tony sighed. “I did the math in my head. I know the possibilities…but I also do not know if Peter is still alive… For all I know, Peter is already dead and Steve is sacrificing himself for nothing. But if he is still in there –.”

Tony had to stop as he gasped shallowly. He pictured Peter screaming and burning under his hands. It broke his heart and Tony sobbed, “This might save Steve but I-I know this-this could kill – this could kill my son.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just when you think I can't twist the knife any deeper, I twitch my wrist and prove you wrong! 
> 
> So we're coming near the conclusion, how many more chapters to go, I can't say... originally this was only going to be like 4,000 words and fluffy but then I remembered Venom and this angsty multi-chapter beast was born! 
> 
> Also life is demanding more attention so I may not be able to get this out on a weekly basis. I will try though! But don't be surprised if you don't get an update within a week! I am still writing! It's just going to be more time! I won't leave you guys hanging!
> 
> Thanks for reading! I hope I did not scar you too emotionally! ;D


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait but here's another angsty chapter!

Alarms were blaring, bullets were bouncing off his skin, people were yelling and screaming all around him, and the newly built building of SHIELD HQ was crumbling beneath the Goblin’s fists.

Norman was laughing uncontrollably as he watched the SHIELD agents try and fail to stop him. Alone, Norman would have eventually been captured but Norman was not fighting alone.

Venom shrieked as he attacked the largest group of agents. The men and women scattered, shouting out warnings. Venom was able to grab ahold of one of the more junior agents. All the agents shot at the symbiote, including the one in Venom’s grasp. Venom threw the man an unsurvivable distance and jumped from the path of the majority of the bullets.

The bullets did not bounce off the symbiote’s skin but, as long as it was concentrating, it kept its body liquefied enough to have the projectiles pass through him without causing any damage.

Venom warned that he would not be able to do it for long but Norman had sacrificed several employees in order to give the symbiote enough strength to fight.

Norman had no idea how to help Venom but he promised the symbiote to help, only after it helped him tear down SHIELD HQ. If it died during the attempt then it would save Norman a lot of grief. This was the point of its existence and if it survived the attack Norman would consider it an ultimate success. Then maybe he would start considering ways to help the symbiote…

As he thought on it, the idea became more appealing. He could take Venom under his wing and explore the limit of his powers together. And with his intelligence, he would be like the son he always wanted. No one would be able to stand up to their combined greatness.

Norman laughed and barreled through several important looking pillars. The building shuddered but held.

“Won’t be long now,” he promised the structure. Soon, the “mightiest” building in the world would fall and the whole world would see what SHIELD was like without Osborn’s might backing it up. They will crumble beneath his fists and come crawling back to him for help like the worthless ants they are. Norman will make them beg for it on hands and knees and it will be a glorious end to his revenge.

It would have been absolutely perfect if…

“GOBLIN!!”

Norman chuckled. Never mind. It was perfect now. Stark got the contract and Norman did not. He always looked down on Norman as if he were beneath him. Norman will gladly show him his true place under his foot.

Norman turned and caught Iron Man before he hit him.

“Hello, Stark,” Norman grinned. His muscles shook with the effort to hold back the suit with all its thrusters going off.

“You’re responsible for all of this! You created Venom! How do I save my son?! Tell me!!” Iron Man demanded.

Norman grinned at start and flames licked his lips. He hissed, “Your son is dead and, in his place, _my_ _son_ lives.”

He could not see Stark’s expression beyond the flat plate of Iron Man’s mask but Norman laughed either way as he imagined his despair.

Iron Man’s head dropped and he stopped pushing Norman. Norman was so surprised that he loosened his grip on the superhero. Stark was a hothead. Where was the anger? The retribution?

“An eye for an eye. A tooth for a tooth,” Stark murmured.

“…Hammurabi’s Code?” Norman recognized the archaic law.

Iron Man’s picked up his head and he growled, “A son for a son.”

Stark directed his repulsors at Norman and blasted him with both hands, burning his armored skin. Norman stumbled back and as he got his feet under him he dumbly watched Stark fly to Venom.

Stark couldn’t – no – he wouldn’t, he…Norman’s mind worked it out and he realized Stark saw no other option. Norman confirmed for the other man that his son was gone and now nothing was holding him back from killing the beast he thought destroyed the boy he had adopted. He was really going to kill Venom.

In seconds, all the plans he just made began to crumble.

“No!” Norman growled, “I won’t be made a fool of again!”

\---

Tony did not let himself think. He locked onto Venom, charged his repulsors to maximum thrust in seconds, and shot himself straight at the symbiote.

It turned to Tony, a second before impact, and shrieked defiantly at him. Yet when Tony turned his thrusters on the monster its shrieks of defiance quickly turned into shrieks of agony.

Venom tried to slip away but Tony’s suit was locked onto its genetic code and automatically moved with it.

Beneath his repulsors, Venom began to wither and shrink. Tony kept telling himself he was saving Steve’s life. He dared not think of Peter but it lurked in the back of his mind like a hawk, ready to swoop in at any moment with its sharp, deadly talons.

He did not know how he was going to react when Venom finally melted away and all Tony was hitting was Peter’s flesh. And if his son was still alive, Tony probably would kill himself for hurting him.

But the Goblin had other plans for him.

The green monster grabbed Tony in its powerful grip and tore him away from Venom. Smoke was trickling from its mouth and the Goblin roared, “I WILL NOT BE MADE A FOOL OF!”

“It’s a little late for that you pointy eared freak!” Tony retorted, struggling madly in the larger creature’s hold. Tony got both his arms free and pointed his repulsors at the Goblin’s eyes. He hit him at full blast and the Goblin released him as he screamed with pain.

Tony turned back to Venom. The symbiote was dragging itself across the floor and its body was shaking with the effort to move itself.

Tony walked up to it and lifted his face shield so he could look at it with his own eyes. He glared at it and tried to transfer all his livid emotions into the stare.

“You destroyed my life,” Tony hissed and hit the symbiote with a quick, single blast from both his hands. It let out a groaning shriek and tried to crawl faster. Tony walked with it, easily keeping pace, and continued, “You tortured and killed my son.” He hit the symbiote again, it faltered in its crawling, and its entire body shuddered and warped into itself. The symbiote collapsed, writhing. Tony watched it struggle for a moment and then promised in a growl, “And now, I am going to kill you.”

He lifted both his hands and pointed it at the thrashing symbiote. His repulsors gave off a high pitched whine as they charged to full blast.

Venom turned onto its back and peered up at him with his white eyes.

Tony stared back and watched his worst fears come true. Venom’s face melted away and Peter’s was revealed. Tony lowered his hands and Peter groggily blinked.

Peter looked horrible, his skin was near-translucent and so thin his face looked more like a skull but it was him and…and he was alive. Breathing, shallowly but breathing all the same.

Peter’s eyes, the same vivid blue as Steve’s, focused on Tony.

“Dad?” Peter’s voice was hoarse and he sounded unsure as if he doubted Tony was real.

Tony dropped his hands and fell to his knees. Venom continued to melt off Peter, revealing more of his skeletal frame.

“Oh, Peter,” Tony moaned. How was he still alive? It could not be possible. He looked like he would shatter if Tony touched him.

A shadow fell over the both of them and Tony looked over his shoulder, still dazed from shock.

The Goblin towered over him and glared down at Tony with red eyes than were made redder by Tony’s repulsors and smoking.

“I am going to tear you to pieces in front of your son,” the Goblin swore. “And make your husband watch as I eat your remains.”

\---

Steve came to the scene with the rest of the team in a quinjet. It was the first time in years since he had arrived as such. Usually, he and his husband flew together and were the first on scene…

Iron Man must have been inside the building with the perpetrators because Steve saw no sign of him outside and Tony was stubbornly ignoring their hails.

Steve wore his black SHIELD ops armor which was just like his Captain America garb but it did not have any of its patriotic stars and coloring. He had given up the shield so did not see the point in wearing his Captain America garb. However, he still felt off balanced without his shield, but, if Steve had his way, what he wore to this fight would not matter soon…

Steve leapt from the quinjet and started running as soon as his feet touched the ground. He could feel Natasha’s disapproving glare stabbing itself into his back and tried not to think what must be going through his friends’ minds….No, his central focus was Peter. No matter what, he will save his son.

Bruce must have leapt after him and transformed mid-fall because, as he landed, the ground shook behind him and Hulk roared. Thor had been following the quinjet and he blast forward when he saw the rest of them taking up the charge.

Steve’s teammates knew what to do. He had given them their orders already and knew they would move proficiently. With the exception of Tony, Tony was not answering his communicator and Jarvis was eerily silent.

SHIELD HQ was being evacuated. Agents came forward to see if they wanted additional assistance and, in the same breath, told them where to find the attackers. Steve asked them to get to safety but thanked them for volunteering. Before the proud agents could counter he suggested they help in getting everyone out and make sure the perimeter was secure.

Steve ran as soon as he was able with his possible location. The rest of the Avengers followed closely in formation. Natasha was the closest to him with only a few feet separation them. The rest were fanned out or, in Thor’s case, flew above him. When they were close enough to hear the Goblin laughing, Steve slowed them down and they cautiously approached.

Mixed in with the Goblin’s laughter were Venom’s shrieks and a loud clanking sound, which reminded Steve of the kicking of a can down an alley. He could hear no one else. Where were the agents? But, most importantly, where was Tony?

Steve raised his hand for everyone to silently stop. Natasha came close to his back and he heard the light click of her safety being clicked off.

In the span of that second’s pause, Steve felt a multitude of regret and sorrow and the foremost was not seeing Tony one last time before Steve went to Venom.

Steve inhaled slowly, calming his nerves and forcing his feelings aside. He raised his hand and have the signal to move forward.

Steve pushed himself forward, expecting to run straight at the villains in a surprise assault. Instead, he sprinted a yard before his eyes caught up with his feet and, as a result, tripped over his own feet. Natasha skidded to a halt and raised her weapon. Steve sensed more than saw the others stop and felt them wait for his command.

Steve never once lost his cool in battle. He was always able to take a step back from his emotions and fight no matter the circumstances. But right now, all rationale left Steve and his emotions ran high as he looked at the scene before him.

 _Tony_.

The Goblin held his husband’s limp body and grinned at Steve as he pushed himself up. The Goblin sneered, “You’re just in time, Captain. I was just asking Stark which limb I should tear off first his arm or his leg. He can’t seem to be able to answer me so do you want to decide or shall I?”

“T-Tony?” Steve gasped, staring intently at his husband. His armor had been crushed all over his body. A gauntlet had been torn off one hand and the flesh revealed was bloody. His helmet was gone and his face was battered and bruised. His reactor still glowed but…

Tony’s bloody hand lifted as if to ward off the Goblin but it dropped before it could touch him. It was enough though to show he was alive and Steve launched himself across the distance separating them.

Venom stepped in front of Steve and shrieked defiantly at him. Steve tried to dodge him but the symbiote moved with him and pushed Steve back. Steve avoided Venom’s initial attack, not because he was focused on the fight, but because he was trying to keep his eyes focused on his husband. But Venom landed a blow and Steve went flying across the room.

Hulk charged Venom before he could resume his attack on Steve. Both yelled at each other with all their might as they met in a deadly embrace and knocked over a concrete wall, throwing their fight into the other room.

Thor acted without prompting and swooped down upon the Goblin. The Thunder God moved as quick as lightening and struck the Goblin across the head with his mighty hammer. The Goblin was large and strong but it was no match for Mjölnir. It was hit clear across the room and its grip grew lax as it flew and he dropped Tony.

Tony’s body skidded several feet then came to a rolling stop. He lay there unmoving and Steve felt his entire body tremble with trepidation.

“Tony,” he gasped as he stumbled forward. Steve fell to his knees when he reached Tony. He gasped again, “ _Tony_?”

His husband remained unresponsive and Steve was finding it harder to breathe. He cautiously turned him over, his breathing growing shallower as he did. He kept reminding himself that Tony had moved a moment before but…that was before he was thrown from the Goblin’s grasp. Could he be..?

Up close, Tony’s condition revealed itself to be worse. It looked like the Goblin was trying to inflict the most pain he could on Tony when he battered him. The bruises and abrasions probably covered his entire body but all Steve could see was Tony’s face and that alone made him sick.

But…with quick touches to his neck and a hand hovering over his mouth, Steve confirmed that Tony still lived.

“ _Goddamnit_ , Tony,” Steve cursed in relief. He nervously parted Tony’s bloody matted hair and wished he would wake. His being unconscious made him uneasy. Steve hissed, “I will never forgive you if you die like _this_. You promised we’d grow old together, you idiot.”

“Steve,” Natasha broke him out of his morbid revelry with a hand to his shoulder. She had covered his six to Tony’s side and he did not even notice. Natasha continued, “I called in a SHIELD medic team, they’ll be here in a few minutes.”

Steve nodded and turned back to Tony. He gazed down at his husband and watched every precious breath he took.

“Cap,” Natasha hissed, drawing his eyes away from Tony. He looked to where Natasha had raised her gun. In the little time Steve had spent with Tony, the Goblin had been hard at work.

Thor was incapacitated and writhing on the floor. Something, a black circular device, was pinned to the center of his chest and electrical currents ran all over his body and randomly shot out of him.

The Goblin had leapt up to the remains of a second level, where Clint had hidden himself, and was trying to catch the acrobatic archer. The Goblin mostly charged and Clint easily evaded him but the monster was watching Clint with a critical eye, studying his moves.

Steve watched it all in shock. The Goblin learned from his prior fight with Thor, it was prepared for him and know it trying to incapacitate Clint as well.

Steve looked back to Tony, he continued to breath but what if Steve left his side and he stopped?

“ _Steve_??” Natasha demanded, “Are you still fighting with us?? Do I need to take command?”

Steve brushed back Tony’s hair one more time and whispered to him alone, “I love you.” He drew his hand back then jumped to his feet and turned to Natasha. He stated, “Help Clint. The Goblin hasn’t fought with you yet so he does not know your weaknesses. I will help Thor.”

Natasha nodded and ran to her partner. Steve looked at Tony one more time then ran to his struggling teammate.

Steve went after the thing on Thor’s chest. It electrocuted him and his entire body burned with the charge. He ignored the pain, ripped the device from Thor’s chest, and threw the circular piece like a discus and it went flying across the room.

Thor sat up sharply, gasping for breath. He clapped Steve’s shoulder and gasped, “Thank you, my friend. The beast constructed an inhibitor which countered my lightening powers and turned them against me! How fairs the Man of Iron?”

“He’s alive,” Steve replied, throwing a glance over his shoulder to where Tony lay. Tony did not move an inch since Steve had left his side. Steve turned back to Thor and said, “Help Natasha and Clint with the Goblin.”

“And Venom?” Thor asked. Steve looked to Hulk’s hunched form. He had pinned Venom down and the symbiote was shrieking at him.

“I will help Hulk.”

Thor nodded and did as Steve commanded. He lifted his hammer and went flying to the second floor.

SHIELD agents were trickling in and Steve motioned them over. He pointed them over to his husband and they nodded with understanding. Steve watched them until they reached Tony and turned his attention back to Hulk.

Hulk was leaning into both of his massive fists, pinning Venom beneath his weight. Venom struggled in his grasp, but even before it grew weaker, Venom was no match for the Hulk. Hulk glowered at the symbiote and was mumbling darkly under his breath.

Steve walked over to them with his eyes on Venom the entire time.

When he knelt next to the symbiote, it stilled and its white eyes focused on Steve.

“Brother won’t come out,” Hulk grumbled, glaring at Venom.

“No, Venom won’t let him,” Steve stated and he and the symbiote did not break eye contact. To the symbiote, Steve said, “You’re dying. Peter won’t bond with you.”

Venom growled, baring sharp teeth and refusing to reply. But it stopped fighting Hulk and continued to stare back at Steve.

Steve looked over his shoulder one last time and saw Tony was being put on a stretcher. He watched his husband until he was taken away then turned back to Venom.

“Would you leave Peter if I let you bond with me?” Steve asked.

Venom blinked in surprise and regarded Steve, looking to see if he were telling the truth. Venom eventually stated, “I must feed. If you bond with me, you must give me proper nutrition…If you don’t I will return to my intended host.”

Steve gulped. Eat humans in other words.

“Let me see my son,” Steve whispered. “Give us a few minutes, then I swear I will cooperate.”

Venom hummed then relaxed its grip on Hulk. It dropped its head and, as its head touched down on the ground, the black mass dripped away and Peter’s wide eyes met his.

“Don’t do it,” Peter gasped instantly. He must have been conscious of everything and it broke Steve’s heart. In the last week, there were so many things Peter should not have experienced let alone witnessed.

Steve cupped both of Peter’s cheeks and kissed his forehead. Hulk cautiously drew back and let go of Venom. Venom did not move but neither did Peter. It seemed Venom only freed him to speak.

“I’ve got to,” Steve whispered in reply. He ran his hands over Peter’s brittle cheeks and placed his forehead to Peter’s. Their eyes met, blue meeting blue. Steve’s stare was steady and Peter’s eyes were beginning to water.

“I can do it, Pops,” Peter begged. “I’m strong. I can defeat him.”

Steve stared proudly at his son but his bottom lip trembled and, when he spoke, his voice shook. “You are _so_ _strong_ and you have done _more_ than enough. But you’re just a child, Peter, you’re _not even a teenager_. I know you’re strong but I am _your father_. I am supposed to protect you. I’m responsible for you and I gladly take your place.”

“I should have run, Pops,” Peter cried. “My sense was going off but I did not run. You shouldn’t have t-to do it. _It’s all my fault_!”

Tendrils of black flesh were beginning to creep along Steve’s limbs and he cupped Peter’s face so his eyes were shielded on either side of his face. He could only look straight ahead at Steve and not see what was happening.

Steve whispered, “It’s not your fault. The fault lies with the people who created Venom, not you. If anyone is to be blamed it’s the Goblin. _Swear to me you won’t blame yourself_. This one thing, Peter, please, promise me, do not blame yourself.”

Peter was trembling beneath him with silent tears streaming down his face. Steve wiped them away with his thumbs and smiled sadly at Peter. With a thick voice, Steve continued, “Promise me you will continued to be strong. Promise me you will still ignore your sense and help others because it is the right thing to do. Promise me when you’re older you are going to use your powers for good. I know asking you to live a normal life is too much so join the Avengers and take everything we taught you to do good…And Tony…your Dad.” Steve’s breath hitched and felt tears prickle his own eyes. Steve whispered, “Please keep calling him ‘Dad.’ He’s as much as a father to you as I am…Let him be the one you look to whenever you need help, or your inspiration for your graduation speech, and mind him at your wedding he’s going to make a fool of himself.”

“Pops…”

Steve did not think he could continue if he paused so he rushed, “ _And_ when you finally have kids, and later grandkids, never let him sit alone because he will think of me and it will make him sad…”

Peter hiccupped and sniffed loudly at the snot dripping from his nose. Steve brushed back his son’s tears again and whispered, “Promise me you will always look after him…Dad, Uncle Bucky, and the others are going to be sad but you, Peter, you always make them feel better. I don’t know what you do but your presence alone puts them at ease.”

“I don’ wanna promise…Don’t do this,” Peter gasped.

“It’s too late,” Steve whispered. Peter’s arms were free and grasped at Steve’s arms. Venom was almost completely off him. It was not long now. Steve quickly gasped, “I’m proud of you. I’m always proud and I will always love you.”

“ _Pops_ –!” Peter begged as his fingers dug into his arms. “I promise! Just – _please_ – fight him! Defeat Venom! Don’t die!”

 _If I did that then Venom would take you again_ , Steve thought sadly. Instead of saying it aloud he simply smiled sadly at Peter and let him read it however he would.

Steve kissed Peter’s forehead again as he felt the tendrils crawl across his face.

“I love you so mu- _ugh_ ,” Steve choked on the word as the last of Venom pooled into his mouth.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading and especially thank you to those of you who have been commenting! Your kind words encourage me to write and, personally, they helped me through a really bad couple of days this past week.   
> So in my gratitude, I give unto you another chapter to make you cry... XD

Tony’s skin was a lumpy, continuous bruise that ached in a constant throb with no relief. And breathing alone was near impossible as every time he inhaled it felt like someone was stabbing his side with a pitchfork. His muscles felt like someone pulverized them with a serrated hammer and his bones felt brittle and cracked.

All he was able to feel and think of was pain. It took him a few minutes to feel more than the hurt and comprehend he was conscious. In addition to the pain, his mind was foggy and befuddled. He could barely tell right from left nonetheless tell what had happened.

When he finally sorted his mind, his entire body was instantly consumed with adrenaline filled foreboding. What happened?? The last things he remembered were seeing Peter and hearing Steve’s voice call out to him. What had the Goblin done??

He relaxed as soon as he felt the warm body at his side.

Steve was safe, he was right where he belonged, at Tony’s side.

Tony shifted his arm and went to wrap it around Steve. However, the body was smaller…too small to be Steve. Instead of the expanse of Steve’s back Tony’s arm moved drastically inward and came into contact with a tiny body and boney shoulders.

Tony stiffened in surprise but, strangely enough, his first thoughts were Steve’s serum was gone and he was tiny again.

Tony cracked open his eyes and stiffly turned his neck to peer at the body curled into his side. It took him a moment to recognize his son.

Peter was sleeping. Even in sleep, his small hands were latched tightly onto Tony’s hospital gown as if he expected to be torn from his side at any moment.

All at once, Tony was elated and crushed. Peter was safe but Steve must have…

“Hey,” Bruce whispered. Tony’s head snapped over to his left. Bruce sat on Tony’s other side and looked exhausted. The dark bags under his eyes were so dark that it looked like it was caused by black eyes and not sleep deprivation. His face drawn and his skin seemed taunt.

“What happened?” Tony asked in a hushed whisper, his voice hollow.

“…You’ve been out for a few days. The Goblin beat you good. He fractured your skull, broke your arm and a couple of ribs. You’re going to be fine…Peter refuses to leave your side. He’s fine too just extremely malnourished. Once we got some nutrients in him he started doing better quickly. His healing factor has kicked into overdrive so he sleeps a lot. He’s going to be fine once he regains all the weight he lost…” Bruce paused and regarded Tony sadly. He continued slowly, “Mary and I did not find a solution last minute...Steve was the one who freed Peter. Venom still has him. Peter said it takes Venom a few days to bond but we suspect he should be showing up any day now.”

“H-Have you and Mary f-found anything since then?” Tony asked, fighting with all his soul to keep his voice steady and his eyes dry in front of Bruce. He had to be strong for Bruce, he was always there for Bruce and he did not want his friend to doubt his strength…and at that moment all of Tony’s strength had shriveled into a thin, gossamer barrier that would hold up to nothing. He forced his mind to not think about Steve’s grisly fate and focus on the science.

Bruce reached out and lightly placed his hand over Tony’s. He whispered, “Nothing survivable, but we’re still looking.”

“The high-pitched frequency –,” Tony began, his thoughts immediately went to the first time they tried to capture Venom. It only did not work because Venom had destroyed the speakers! They could still use it! Tony sat up sharply with the words but moved too quickly and jolted Peter.

Peter groaned then went ridged. His blue eyes shot open and latched onto Tony. He gasped in a tiny voice, “ _Dad_?”

All thoughts about the frequency faded as Tony looked down at his son and heard the ingrained upset in his voice. The walls Tony had been building ever since he woke crumbled upon the single word his son muttered. Tears collected in his eyes and he gathered Peter in his arms. Peter had a similar reaction and began to weep as soon as Tony collected him in his embrace.

“ _I never thought I would see you again_ ,” Tony sobbed. “I love you so much, Peter. I’m sorry, _I’m_ _so_ _sorry_.”

“Dad, Pops he-he-,” Peter struggled to gasp.

“I know,” Tony whispered, burying his face deeper into Peter’s scalp. “…I know.”

The horror he had been trying to deny hit him full on and Tony could not deny the fact that Steve was doomed. The way Tony saw it Steve had limited options: Steve would give in and eat humans to nourish Venom but will thereby destroy the purity of his soul and if he ever escaped would be a shell of the man he once knew; or he would not eat and waste away like Peter had and eventually die; or SHIELD would find him first and kill him before more died; or, the most unlikely of the bunch, they will miraculously find a cure they had been searching for, for weeks and save him… Tony was no idiot. He could put two and two together. No matter what happened in the end, he was going to lose Steve.

Peter cried harder and Tony rocked him, humming a nonsensical tune to try to comfort him because he knew with the depth of his grief he could not speak anymore.

He thought back to when he first rocked Peter when he was a toddler and how much smaller he had been that he could easily fit in his arms. Tony had marveled at his lightweight body and soft skin. Peter had trusted him with ease and easily stole his heart. Back then, he would have never thought in a million years he would have considered the boy to become his son nor could he have ever seen this current horrifying period in their lives.

What was Tony going to do now? Steve was gone and they did not know when he and Venom would reemerge nor what they will be like. Peter was back but he was not the same boy he was weeks prior. He had gone through so many unspeakable horrors and traumas that Tony had no idea how to help him nonetheless where to begin. Tony was screwed up all on his own and…and Steve would have been the one to know what to do. He was always the one who knew what was right and how to help. Tony did not know what to do without his lead.

Tony did not notice but Bruce had slipped out to give them some privacy as they lamented together. The only reason they stopped was because Peter’s body could not take it anymore and he fainted.

Tony worried over him but once he saw Peter had fallen back asleep, he relaxed and looked over his son. He was still extremely skinny but there was more meat on his bones since he last saw him. He also wore a hospital gown, similar to Tony’s, and had an IV in his arm supplying him with constant fluids. He did not seem to have any physical injuries but Tony knew the mental injuries alone would take years to heal…if they ever did.

Tony stooped his head to kiss Peter’s scalp. He was planning on only a single kiss but kept kissing the top of his head, unable to stop giving him affection.

He was not a religious man but he sent out a prayer to whatever higher power might be listening and thanked them for his boy…he paused, with his face buried in Peter’s thick hair, and silently asked that higher power to preform another miracle and bring back his husband as well.

\---

Peter felt like an empty shell. Without Venom there to fight he suddenly had no purpose. He was too weak to do anything but lie next to his healing father and think.

And thinking was the last thing he should be doing.

He tried to block out the memories at first and only think of Pops. The guilt alone he felt for what happened to Pops would have crippled him with the utmost despair. Pops begged him not to blame himself and Peter tried but there was no denying that a good portion of this was his fault.

He should have listened to his senses.

He should have run.

And because he didn’t, countless people were dead and Pops was a host to the symbiote, cursed to eat people to survive.

Peter’s stomach clenched as he remembered the feedings. They were his most vivid memories and probably will be as such for the rest of his life.

The memories affected him so much that he could not eat any solid foods. They reminded Peter of the feedings and he retched up whatever it was he was trying to eat. He got most of his nutrition from IVs and soup. With time, he would probably be able to eat solid foods again but he doubted he would ever eat meat again.

He tried to hide the nightmares from the others and succeeded until his dad woke.

Peter had slipped back into sleep after crying in his father’s arms. At first, he slept peacefully with his mind blissfully blank. But the memories found a way to break through the peaceful darkness and his victims screamed beneath his claws.

Peter awoke with a scream strangling his throat and his hands clawing at the air.

“Peter!” Dad gasped in suprise, grabbing onto Peter’s waist with his good hand. Peter flinched under his touch and pushed him away. In his half-awake state, Peter thought it was Venom who was grabbing him.

Peter had pushed with all of his strength so his father went flying from the bed, hit the opposite wall, and crumpled to the ground with a groan. Fresh blood began to trickle down the older man’s arm where the needle delivering his father’s pain medication was torn out of his flesh.

Peter stared at his adopted father with a horrified expression and was instantly frozen by shock. His surprise only last for a few seconds then he was swiftly spurred on by his worry. Peter scrambled off the bed and ran to his dad’s side. He remembered to grab his IV’s pole so his own needle wasn’t ripped out of his arm.

Peter’s legs were still wobbly so he put some weight on the pole and its wheels squeaked lightly as he padded over to the prone body of his dad.

“Dad?! Dad, are you okay??” Peter gasped. Dad’s eyes blinked several times in confusion and he beadily looked up at Peter.

His dad murmured, “I…I think I’m fine. Ow…Maybe a little bruised.”

He rubbed his head and pushed himself up with a grunt.

Peter bit his lip and felt tears pooling in his eyes again. It seemed like all he was good for now was crying. He sobbed, “I am _so_ sorry.”

His dad jolted upright upon the sound of his cry and all the confusion left his eyes and were replaced by a sad but comforting warmth. He leaned forward and lightly grasped Peter’s hands. He whispered, “It’s alright. There’s nothing to apologize for. You were having a bad dream, weren’t you?”

Peter nodded, unable to verbally answer by the constricted wail in his throat. He knew if he opened his mouth he would start sobbing in earnest again and he could not let that happen. He had to be strong, just like he promised Pops he would be.

Dad ran his hand through Peter’s hair and murmured, “I have bad dreams sometimes too. They’re scary…It’s okay to cry, Peter.”

The older man lightly touched Peter’s face which was so tightly pinched that it was beginning to turn red. Peter leaned into his touch and relaxed his muscles, releasing his tears. He hiccupped as the salty water flowed from his eyes.

His dad collected Peter into his arms and whispered in a hushed voice, “It’s okay, buddy. I’m here. You’re safe. The nightmares are over…”

Peter shook his head at his dad’s last statement. He knew the nightmares were nowhere close to being over. He might be haunted by them for the rest of his life but he could live with that…what he could not live with was the living nightmare Pops was stuck in because of Peter.

\---

After another long and sleepless night with Mary at the lab, Bruce dragged his feet to SHIELD Medical and planned to check on Tony and Peter before slipping into the hospital’s on-call room and grabbing a quick nap.

He squinted at the empty bed and blinked a few times to make sure he was really seeing it devoid of both Peter and Tony. He saw Peter’s IV pole on the other side of the bed and stepped closer to perhaps get a clue as to what happened.

Tony and Peter were laying on the floor. Peter, as always, was curled into his father’s side and his young face was contorted in anguish, even as he slept. Tony was awake and sitting at an uncomfortable angle with his unbroken arm slung protectively around Peter’s back. Tony motioned Bruce to be quiet so he tiptoed the rest of the way and silently knelt beside them.

“Nightmare,” Tony whispered under his breath before Bruce could ask. Bruce’s eyes widened as he noticed the cracks on the wall behind Tony.

“Did he throw you? Are you alright?” Bruce whispered anxiously. Out of everyone on the team, Tony was the most fragile, especially out of his armor. Bruce did not wait for Tony’s reply quickly checked the rigidly of his neck and then ran his hands over other weak junctures in his body to make sure all the bones were whole and no skin was overly swollen. He then grabbed his wrist to check his pulse checking for any kind of stress.

“I’m fine,” Tony sighed but he did not pull his hand out of Bruce’s hold. Bruce glanced up at him and saw Tony staring sadly at Peter.

Tony whispered, “No, that’s a lie…I’m far from fine. How can I be fine when my husband is trapped within a symbiote and on SHIELD’s top kill list? And Peter…I thought I was screwed up after nearly dying in the void after Loki’s attack but this…God… _He’s six-years-old_ , Bruce. No child should have to go through this.”

Bruce peered down at his nephew sadly. Peter shared with him a fate he would have never wished on anyone. Before he attained a measure of control on the Hulk, his other half had killed hundreds of innocents and had even eaten a few of them.

Even though it was years later, some nights Bruce woke screaming out in terror from what he had inadvertently done. Bruce inwardly sighed and reached out to lightly touch Peter’s head. Peter will now share similar nights and Bruce was powerless to stop it. All he could do was the same as Tony currently was, offering a shoulder to cry on when it became too much. The poor boy…He had a hard life ahead of him.

“You should return to bed,” Bruce whispered, his eyes flickering up to Tony.

“No, he needs as much peaceful sleep as he can get,” Tony argued.

“You need to heal just as fast to be there for him,” Bruce countered. “And you’re not going to do that as well by laying here.”

Tony frowned at him and Bruce reached out and lightly touched Peter’s shoulder. He cajoled, “Peter. Wake up, Peter.”

Bruce knew he woke by the way he tensed. Peter’s fingers dug into Tony and Tony winced from the pressure. Peter relaxed a moment later as he remembered where he was and he looked questionably at Bruce.

“Let’s get your dad back into bed, huh? He doesn’t look too comfy,” Bruce whispered.

Peter looked at Tony guiltily and whispered in a small voice, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, buddy,” Tony murmured and flashed Peter a small smile to try to comfort him.

Bruce helped both of them to their feet then helped Tony into the bed. His friend moved stiffly and Bruce winced every time Tony jerked. He must be in a lot of pain. Once Tony was settled Peter scrambled up the side of the bed to join him. Bruce also helped him with a light push. He gaped at his low weight and it made deepened his sadness for the boy.

Peter automatically curled into Tony’s side and buried his face into his torso. It made Bruce’s heart ache. Peter was usually so talkative and happy, he saw no signs of that right now.

Tony heavily sighed and closed his eyes as his head fell back on his pillow. He murmured, “Need to get the morphine hooked back up.”

“I got it,” Bruce murmured and grabbed the nurse’s cart from the corner of the room. He dragged it over to Tony’s bedside and grabbed the intravenous needle from where it was hanging uselessly and dripping its precious contents onto the floor. As he searched the cart for a cleaning solution, Peter peeked from behind Tony’s torso and watched Bruce work.

In less than a minute, Bruce found the solution, cleaned both Tony’s arm and the needle with an alcohol swab, and had the drug pumping back into him. As the morphine did its work, Tony’s face relaxed and he released another pent up sigh.

Bruce silently cleaned up after himself and then cleaned up the small puddle of morphine on the floor. By the time he was done, Tony was sleeping. Peter was still awake and was staring at Tony with an unreadable expression.

Bruce juggled with what he should do next. Leave or try to talk to Peter…

In the end, he did what he wished someone else had done for him after the Hulk’s first transformation.

Bruce pulled up the chair across from Peter’s side of the bed and patiently waited for Peter’s attention to fall on him. Eventually, Peter felt his eyes on him and his bright blue eyes flickered up to him. He kept his face half hidden behind Tony’s torso and peered questionably at Bruce.

Bruce carefully whispered, “I dosed myself with gamma-radiation when I was 29. I had no control of the Hulk back then and killed a lot of people.” Peter’s face pinched tightly with sorrow and he looked like he was going to cry so Bruce leaned in closer and quickly rushed, “Peter – Peter, I know what you’re going through right now…I know you blame yourself. I know you are disgusted with yourself. I know…I know you feel as if you’d rather have died in their place…”

The tension in Peter’s face relaxed slightly and stared at Bruce in shock.

“…I know many people have told you that it is not your fault –.” Bruce paused wondering how to phrase this and murmured, “But that isn’t the truth is it?”

“No,” Peter whimpered, his small hands knotted tightly into Tony’s shirt. Bruce glanced at his friend and was glad to see that Tony continued to sleep. Tony was Bruce’s best friend but he would not understand and most likely would not approve of what he was about to tell his son.

“Like you, I thought the same thing but you know what?” Bruce asked, still whispering and leaning so close that he was on the edge of his seat. Peter raised his head slightly and kept his wet eyes locked on Bruce.

“What?”

“You and the others, you’re all wrong,” Bruce stated and Peter’s eyes widened in shock. Bruce smiled sadly and reached out and lightly touched one of Peter’s hands. The tense appendage relaxed slightly beneath his touch. He stated, “We’re both innocent and guilty.”

“How?”

“We did something—something foolish that made Hulk and Venom take power and kill. We’re guilty of that. Yet, us – _you and me_ – Peter, neither one of us would have done that…which makes us innocent. Eventually, I learned how to control Hulk…but I can still lose control if I am suddenly angered... Do you want to know how I live with myself?”

With his jaw hanging open with shock, Peter nodded.

Bruce grinned and said, “…I accepted it: Acceptance. I accepted there was nothing I could change. I accepted that I killed many and I accepted it can happen again. I accepted Hulk as being a part of me and accepted that I, my true self, would never commit such atrocities.

“Peter…I know what I’m saying right now sounds impossible but I think you can learn to accept too. Maybe you can’t do it right now but, eventually, you will be able to move on.” Peter looked crushed and his gaze dropped as he peered dejectedly at Tony’s chest. Bruce whispered, “…I’m sorry. I know this isn’t some kind of instant magical cure-all but change takes time.”

“…I don’t have Venom anymore,” Peter whispered. “Does that mean I will feel better sooner?”

Bruce tightened his hold on Peter’s hand for a heartbeat then replied, “I don’t know…hopefully. That’s all I can provide: hope.”

Peter withdrew his hand from underneath Bruce’s. He tucked his hand close to his face and buried his into Tony’s side. Bruce sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair. He regarded Peter for a moment then stood. He lightly caressed Peter’s soft hair and whispered, “Don’t give up on hope…I love you, Peter.”

Peter did not lift his head or answer but Bruce thought it best to leave him alone to think about what Bruce said. He hoped it would help, even if it was in a small way.

\---

Mary watched Dr. Banner leave the hospital room with hunched shoulders and a resigned expression. She was hidden from his view, being several feet away but had still been able to adjust her frequencies and listen in on the conversation between Dr. Banner and Peter.

She clutched the metal object in her lab coat’s pocket and questioned whether or not she should give it to the boy. Dr. Banner had spoken with Peter when he first woke up and told him everything that had occurred, including Mary’s origin and her presently helping them. She had no idea how he would react to seeing her or how he would react to the object she had kept, hidden away.

She knew he was traumatized by what had happened but, going on what limited knowledge she had of human emotion, she equated her emotional guilt to being the worst thing a human could ever feel and assumed that it was the worse Peter would feel. She assumed all he had to deal with was the same emotional turmoil and she knew it to be manageable, horrible but manageable.

However, after listening to Peter and Bruce’s conversation and hearing the level of emotional pain Peter was in, she was shocked to learn it could go _so_ much deeper and her guilt worsened.

She did this to Peter.

“Have you seen enough?” The SHIELD agent behind her asked.

“No…No, just a little longer,” she begged in a hoarse whisper and her hand tightened on the metal object.

She wanted to see him. She wanted to see the love in his eyes again but she knew she would never see it again and it hurt all the more. Her entire existence revolved around Peter but she barely knew him personally and she wished things could have been different.

How would Peter react if she walked through the door at that moment? Would he become more traumatized? Would he cry? Or would he yell? Or…worse, would he just stare at her blankly, his mind broken because it could not handle another shock?

She should not risk it but…but she felt a particular tug in her chest that pulled her in the direction of the boy.

“Why do I take all leave of rational thought when it comes to that boy?” Mary wondered aloud. The SHIELD agent chose not to reply but she heard him shift uncomfortably on his feet.

She closed her eyes, listened to the sounds of Peter’s breathing, and waited. In short time, Peter’s breathing grew even and Mary knew he fell back asleep.

She wordlessly slipped forward and her SHIELD escort followed closely. When the agent realized she was going to the room, he grabbed her arm and hissed, “Wait! You can’t go in –.”

Mary broke her arm from the agent’s grip and hissed, “You can’t stop me. They won’t even know I was there.”

She spun back around and stalked toward the sealed door.

She paused before the door then, ever so carefully, pushed it open. Her eyes focused on Peter’s small form. His back was to her but, as soon as her eyes fell on him, she felt what she could only categorize as a strange lurch inside her.

She silently walked up to the bedside and peered down at his face. The lurch inside her was more powerful and painful this time. She always pictured him in her mind as the boy she first saw, smiling nervously with such hopeful and loving eyes, but right now Peter looked like a corpse.

“I am sorry,” she whispered so low that she doubt any of the humans in the room would have heard it. She pulled the metal object from her pocket and slowly but cautiously slid it into one of his curled hands.

With her mission complete, she spared once last glance at Peter’s face before leaving the room. Her SHIELD shadow followed her closely and did not mask his curious expression. She let him think whatever he wanted because she was not going to provide him with any explanations.

As she closed the door behind them, she heard Peter’s breath hitch and knew the clicking of the lock woke him. She paused and honed in her hearing again.

She knew the exact moment he noticed the metal object because Peter stopped breathing. She heard him sit up sharply on the bed and imagined him looking around the room for the source of the object. He settled down and she could just barely hear the light dragging sound of the flesh of his finger as it brushed against the metal. It was quickly followed by the light popping sound of Peter briefly kissing it and then laying back down onto the bed.

Mary had found the metal object as she was reconstructing herself after being torn in two. She thought it scrap metal until she read Rogers’ name on it and realized it was his dog tag. She instantly recalled from her data that the boy wore always his father’s duplicate. Rogers’ dog tag was reportedly warped from a fight involving a lot of fire so this pristine tag had to be Peter’s. When Venom took him the dog tag was torn from him just like his clothes and would have probably been lost had Mary not found it.

Why she held onto it, she could not say. She blamed the reasonless emotions programed into her because, whenever she touched the objected loved unconditionally by Peter, she felt better…

“…I’ll save you, Pops,” Peter promised in a whisper. Mary closed her eyes as a new emotion ran through her.

Trepidation…it was almost as bad as guilt.

She lightly touched the door and whispered in a promise to the boy beyond, “I will save both of you.”

\---

Tony woke to the sound of buzzing. He recognized the vibration as to belonging to his phone. He lifted his head and silently peered around the room. Peter was nestled into his side and was dozing quietly so he tempered his movements as to not disturb him.

He did not have to look far. Someone, Pepper most likely, had thought ahead and placed his phone on his bedside within reaching distance. Shifting carefully, Tony reached out and grasped it off the bedside table. As soon as his eyes fell on the device, it activated and Jarvis’s voice emanated over the speakers.

“It is good to see you, Sir.”

“And good to hear you, J,” Tony whispered. “Lower the volume. Peter’s sleeping.”

At a lower volume, Jarvis replied, “Yes, Sir. I have been following your set protocols ever since you became incapacitated and I also have been acting on your assumed orders.”

“Assumed?” Tony asked, his eyebrows raising a tick, on top of everything else, did he have to worry about Jarvis going Terminator on him.

“I never received orders to monitor for Master Rogers,” Jarvis replied and Tony inhaled sharply. No, Jarvis was doing just as he was programed to do…

“I take it you didn’t buzz me just to tell me this,” Tony whispered.

“I have a visual. Shall I inform SHIELD?”

“No!” Tony gasped and jerked forward sharply. He froze, conscious of Peter. His son grumbled under his breath but settled back down and continued to slumber. Tony waited a moment to make sure he truly was still asleep then turned his attention back to his phone and whispered, “Show me the visual. Don’t tell SHIELD a word until I say.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jarvis replied. A horizontal video began to play so Tony tilted his screen accordingly. He recognized the build of Steve’s body immediately but he did not see him. The camera was focused on his back. He was wearing a hoodie with its hood up. He was meandering through a crowd. Tony’s skin crawled and he whispered, “Where is he?”

“New York-Presbyterian Hospital,” Jarvis replied and the crawling of his skin turned into a full on shudder. It may have been Steve’s body he was watching but he knew it was Venom who was guiding him. He was not walking through a hospital, he was walking through hunting grounds.

But who was in control?

“Can you get a visual on his face?” Tony asked. If Tony saw his eyes then he would know who was in control.

“Yes, Sir. It will take just a moment for him to walk into range.”

The video switched to a different camera. Jarvis focused the image on a pair of feet walking into the screen. It revealed jeans and then the dark sweater. And then…Steve.

Steve’s expression was harsh and his jaw clenched. Pulling at the skin of his face were thin, black tendrils of Venom and his eyes – his eyes were that of a man walking to the gallows. They were Steve’s eyes but they were broken and hardened. He was clearly a man on a mission he did not want to pursue.

“Oh Steve…” Tony groaned. Was he trying to find a near-dead victim to pacify Venom?

He froze the image on the screen and ran a finger down the angle of his jaw.

“How shall I proceed, Sir?” Jarvis asked.

Tony’s eyes flickered down to Peter then back to the frozen image of Steve.

Tony murmured, “Tell the Avengers but not SHIELD. I don’t trust them. They’ve already written off Steve.”

“Yes, Sir. I have just alerted all of them of the situation.”

“Good, now send me a suit and tell them I will right behind them,” Tony stated and unfroze the screen. It was a view from a different camera but it was still pointed at Steve’s face.

“Sir, I must object. You are in no condition to –.”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Tony interrupted the AI. “He’s my husband. I am going to him.”

“Can I go too?”

Tony jerked and nearly dropped his phone but there was no use in hiding it. Peter was awake and he had seen it, seen Steve.

“ _Pete_ ,” Tony gasped, his eyes focusing on his son.

“I need to go, Dad,” Peter stated. He pushed himself up and he reasoned, “If you can go with broken bones then I can go too.”

“You’re just a child, Peter.”

“I killed people,” Peter said and the cultured age in Peter’s eyes shone through. Tony’s already broken heart crumbled a little more.

Tony cupped Peter’s face and whispered, “ _You_ did not kill anyone. Venom did.”

Peter dropped his head and adjusted his hold on Tony’s shirt. He whispered, “…But I did, Dad. I saw it. It…it happened with my hands…” His blue eyes flickered back up and he whispered, “I’m not a child anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed that I am predicting 2 more chapters...I hold no promises...
> 
> Anyways, so after all of that, ...Is it bad that I consider this chapter the calm before the storm?


	13. Chapter 13

Dad _wouldn’t_ listen.

The Iron Man suit flew into the room and opened up for the older man. Peter recognized it as the more compact model that turned into a suitcase. His Dad’s usual armor was probably too damaged to use from his fight with the Goblin.

Dad got into the suit then looked to Peter and promised he would return.

Peter glared at the bed and refused to reply.

Dad lightly touched the side of his head and whispered, “You…I…I know you’re upset, buddy. We’re going to get Pops and then Uncle Bruce is going to find a cure any day now…”

“…I could help,” Peter whispered. He may have been physically weak at the moment but he still had his spider-sense. He could use it to help the team in the coming fight. He needed to do something to help Pops. He couldn’t be expected to sit around and do _nothing_!

“No…Peter…We’re not going to have this argument again…You need to stay here,” Dad sighed and Peter glanced up at him. His armor was unable to cover the cast on his arm so it was exposed and his face shield was still up revealing a pale and wearied face. His dad was in no condition to fight. If he was going then Peter should be able to too!

Peter crossed his arms over his chest and returned to glaring at the bed.

Dad lightly touched his head one last time and whispered in farewell, “I’ll be back soon…”

Dad paused, waiting for Peter to reply but Peter was too angry to do so. He heard Dad’s face shield snap shut and moments later his repulsors hummed to life and he took off via the window.

Peter looked up to see if he was really gone and was sad to see it was true. Dad still only saw a child when he looked at Peter. He still saw the boy he had raised. He did not realize how much he had changed…

He ran his thumb over the contours of Pops’ dog-tag and thought back to the moment he had lost it. Peter never thought he would see it again yet it had found its way back into his possession.

Dad would not let him go and he doubted any of the other Avengers would either. But…Peter gripped the dog-tag tightly – but there was still someone who might be willing to help…

Peter inhaled deeply then looked at the bedside table where Dad left his cellphone. Peter stared at it for a few moments before making up his mind and grabbing it.

He looked at the screen with a frown then murmured, “Jarvis?”

“Yes, Master Parker?” The AI replied as the phone buzzed to life.

There were only two people who had access to Peter in SHIELD Medical and had been there when Venom first took him when Peter lost the dog-tag…

“Where is Mary Parker?”

**\---**

Mary did not expect to see Peter Parker ever again until he came walking through the lab doors, dragging an IV bag behind him and being trailed by none other than Director Phil Coulson.

Coulson eyed Mary warily and stood protectively by Peter’s side.

“See,” Peter said to the Director. “Everything is _fine_ , Uncle Phil.”

“Peter…It isn’t your mother,” Coulson stated and, by the way he said it, Mary could tell he had already said it several times.

She looked into Peter’s eyes and saw none of the love he had openly displayed when she first saw him. He knew she was not his mother but it still hurt Mary all the same.

“I mean to do no more harm,” Mary stated to assuage the Director and maybe even Peter.

“See,” Peter repeated. “You don’t need to babysit me. I’m fine…I want to talk to her alone.”

Mary and Coulson both shared similar expressions of uneasiness. Did Peter come here to yell accusations at her?

Peter turned to the agent and pressed, “Please?”

Coulson’s usually stoic face was marred by a slight frown and he murmured, “I will be just outside. Call me if you need me.”

“Yes, Uncle Phil,” Peter droned with a roll of his eyes. Coulson nodded then spared Mary a measured but threatening stare before departing.

Peter sighed heavily then turned back to Mary. He took a moment to study her, his eyes were curious but shadowed with hurt. Eventually, he looked her up and down and asked, “Is this what my mom would have really looked like?”

Mary stepped out from behind the lab counter so he could see her better and replied, “Yes, my master used your DNA and images and video of your mother to create me.”

“A-And your memories? You had Uncle Ben convinced…”

“They were antidotes provided by the Goblin. He had some sort of connection to your mother. Whenever I did not know how to respond, I simply remained silent or brought up stress of my confinement to deflect any questions,” Mary replied.

Peter dropped his head and murmured, “So…You can’t tell me what she would have thought of me…”

“No,” Mary whispered the truth. Yet, for a moment, she had the strangest urge to lie.

Peter shook his head and chuckled darkly. His head was bowed so she could not see his face and he quickly wiped his eyes before raising his head. His blue eyes met hers and Peter asked, “Did you return Pops’ dog-tag to me?”

“Yes,” she replied evenly.

“Why?”

“…Because I knew it held value to you,” Mary replied.

“But _why_?” Peter demanded, “Why be nice to me?? I’m not y-your son! I…I was just a mission!”

Mary cringed at the hurt that broke through in Peter’s voice. He must have been fighting to repress it this entire time. She carefully replied, “I was programmed with emotions to better convince your family that I was your mother…They did not affect me strongly until I met you. At the time, the whole reason for my entire existence was only to deliver Venom to you. But afterwards, I felt guilt for what I did to you…I am sorry, Peter…If I could go back and change what had happened I would.”

Peter laughed without humor and stated, “Well you succeeded in your life’s goal at least...”

“It is something I strive to atone for every day,” Mary stated truthfully.

Peter’s eyes became calculating and he lost all traces of the dark humor that was beginning to unnerve Mary. Peter cautiously stated, “Dad just left. He and the other Avengers are going to Pops. Jarvis said he’s hunting at a hospital right now. I want to go too. I need to at least _try_ to help. Please…can you help me?”

Peter’s eyes were no longer cold but were pleading and, even though she logically knew she should not do it, her metaphorical heart was pulled in by Peter’s beseeching eyes. She knew she could not deny him.

“Which hospital is it?” She asked.

Peter smiled and any doubts she had about this were totally obliterated.

\---

Steve never felt stronger than he did at that moment but he also never felt as hungry. Despite these developments, his bond with Venom was imperfect.

“You are not him,” Venom explained. “I was made for my original host. I was not made for you.”

The price was Venom not being able to settle. The symbiote crawled all over him and tugged painfully at his skin. It could never completely hide. Steve’s clothes were a part of its skin but the remaining of its body hid under the fake cloth and in the shadows of his hood.

As soon as Steve woke, he knew he needed to eat but it was a daunting task. How was he supposed to choose who to eat?

Venom suggested eating wrongdoers but Steve denied it. Even a criminal did not deserve such a grisly fate. _So_ _who_??

His mind immediately fell to those who did not have long to live. But even then, it seemed cruel to fill the last moments of their lives with such horror and pain. He walked to the hospital either way. His brain came up with other victims: the comatose, those who were dying in pain, those who had no brain activity, or those who had not heartbeat…Yet he kept making excuses and Venom was getting antsy.

They walked around the hospital for what felt like hours to Steve. Yet every possible victim he came across had a plausible reason not to be consumed.

“If we do not feed, I will take control and return to my original host,” Venom whispered in his ear and Steve flinched. He will _never_ let this monster go back to his son.

With that thought, Steve spun around with the mindset to stop loitering and go to the Emergency Room.

The waiting room was a hive of activity. Mostly he saw worried or pained expressions of people waiting to be seen by a doctor. He avoided their eyes but he saw a few do a double take as they recognized him. Did these people know what happened to him? What did the Avengers reveal to the public? Or did they think he was still in his right mind and had been tucked away safely in the Tower for the last week?

Steve pulled his hood down lower over his face and stalked toward the ambulance bay doors. He planned to stalk the area until an opportune victim appeared.

Yet as soon as he found himself in view of the swinging doors he found himself stopped.

Cold fingers curled into Steve’s hand and carded between the joints of his fingers. It was a familiar touch, not the touch of a stranger but a loved one and in this case, a man he loved dearly. Steve froze. He would know that touch anywhere.

“Tony,” Steve disbelievingly whispered his husband’s name under his breath. What was he doing here??

Tony’s hold on him tightened and he replied, “Hi, Steve.”

Venom twisted unpleasantly. It wanted him to run from the Avengers but Steve was in control and Steve stood his ground.

Steve slowly turned around and faced Tony.

Tony carried his Iron Man suitcase by the tips of his fingers of his broken arm. He wore a hospital gown and his face was still battered enough to be unrecognizable. Tony was pale and his face gaunt beneath the damage. He must have been using all his strength to remain standing. Tony’s eyes hardened as they fell upon the symbiotic tendrils pulling at Steve’s skin.

He reached out to Steve but did not reach out enough. He pulled his hand back before he got too close. He looked like he wanted to touch Steve more but was also questioning if it was alright. He tightened his hold on Steve’s hand so much so it was as if he was trying to strangle his fingers.

Steve wanted to grab him and scream that of course it was alright for him to touch him! Tony was his husband! He was the love of his life! He never needed to ask if he could touch him…But Steve did not say this because it was not entirely true…Steve wanted to throw himself into Tony’s arms but he was no longer just Tony’s husband…he was also Venom. This fact created a great divide between them that seemed uncrossable despite the fact that they were connected through their clasped hands.

“How did you know I was here?” Steve asked, his voice so low it could have been a whisper. His eyes flicked around Tony’s body, taking in his injuries as an excuse to not have to meet his eyes. He felt guilty when their eyes stayed connected for too long.

“Jarvis has been watching all of the city’s cameras,” Tony replied. Steve’s eyes flickered up and easily found one of the glass black domes which concealed one of the hospital’s cameras. Of course, how could he forget about Jarvis?

“How is Peter? And you? How are you?” Steve asked. He had been yearning for an answer ever since he woke in the dark sewers beneath the city.

“We’re both alive and healing,” Tony replied. “… _We miss you so much_.”

Relief flooded him and he gasped, “You’re both fine.”

“’Fine’ is not how I would categorize it…” Tony grumbled. He tightened his hold on Steve’s hand and he bit down on his lip before stating, “Everyone is here. We want to help you…”

Steve swiftly jerked his hand out of Tony’s.

“If you try to stop me, Venom will go back to Peter!” Steve hissed.

“You can’t do this, Steve,” Tony implored, taking a step toward him. He hissed under his breath so only Steve would hear, “You can’t _eat_ someone! Please, let us help you! We’ll go back to the Tower and we’ll lock you away in the Hulk cage until Bruce or Mary find a cure!”

“Venom would take control before he would let that happen!” Steve easily deduced. Tony winced and uneasily glanced behind his shoulder.

Steve followed his gaze and instantly spotted Thor’s hulking form and recognized him even though his friend’s long golden hair was tucked away in a beanie, he wore large glasses, and civilian clothing. He looked like an outrageously buff hipster several feet away and leaning nonchalantly against a pillar.

Steve glanced around and spotted more of his friends. Natasha was talking with a nurse over by one of the check-in windows. Bucky was leaning into her side looking the part of someone needing to be check-in to the ER and he probably was not faking the sick look on his face. Bruce was mascaraing as a doctor and was looking at a chart. Even Sam Wilson was there and he and Clint sat next to each other in the waiting room, both wore sweaters like Steve’s with their hoods low but were keeping an eye on Steve.

“What are you going to do?” Steve asked breathlessly, “Charge me? In the middle of the close corridors of a waiting room? Do you realize how many people can get hurt? _Or killed_?!”

“No, Steve,” Tony replied. He stepped closer and implored, “We hoped that you would come willingly or…Or I am prepared to subdue Venom.”

“You?” Steve scoffed. Hulk might be able to pin Venom but Tony?? Venom was attentively paying attention and, in the back of Steve’s head, he felt the symbiote ready to spring into his mind and take control in an instant.

Tony tightened his hold on his briefcase and said, “There is still one nonviolent way to subdue the symbiote.”

Steve’s eyes widened as awareness blossomed in his mind. He gasped, “That high-pitch noise – but _how_? You can’t possibly have had the time to set up speakers!?”

“The hospital has had an intercom system for the last thirty years and Jarvis easily hacked it. Venom – _I am talking to you_ – come willingly or Jarvis will set the sound off. I know it hurts you so come willingly and I promise we will try to find a way to separate both of you safely.

Venom growled in the back of Steve’s mind and he sensed the symbiote’s skepticism.

Steve took another step back and his eyes spanned over the room, pinpointing where everyone stood and looking for a way to slip past their defense. Their defense was solid but he spotted another player in the game who must have slipped in while Tony distracted him.

Mary Parker was avoiding the others and was staring at Steve with a concentrated gaze. Why was she here? Had she volunteered to come too? Or –…his thoughts trailed to a stop as he noticed the small form Mary supported on her arm.

 _Peter_.

His son wore a smaller version of Tony’s hospital gown and already looked so much healthier since Steve last saw him. Venom stirred excitedly and, in his excitement, the symbiote was able to make Steve take a step toward Peter. Steve wanted to study all of Peter’s improvements but he had to tear his eyes from Peter and it felt like he was tearing himself in two.

“What – _in the hell_ – is he doing here?” Steve gasped, taking several steps back to separate himself from his son. Venom moved with renewed interest against his skin and Steve felt all its attentions focus on Peter.

He had to feed the symbiote _now_ or risk it turning back to his son.

“We all came for you,” Tony stated in confusion, obviously thinking he was referring to one of their teammates.

“ _Peter has to get out of here right now_!” Steve reiterated, “What were you thinking??”

Tony’s eyes widened in horror and he spun around, following Steve’s eyes.

“Oh God, Steve, go. Forget everything I just said. Go now!” Tony gasped, his voice laced with panic. The rest of the team followed their eyes and spotted Peter. Bruce was the closest to him and he hurried over to Peter and Mary.

Venom slid several tendrils across Steve’s throat and smothered his voice, leaving unable to tell Peter to run himself. His head was violently jerked back and Tony’s eyes snapped back to him and opened widely with alarm.

Tony and the others all made a move toward Steve as he stumbled back. He fell and drew all the eyes in the waiting room to him with the violent fall. His hood fell back and Steve raised his hand to ward Tony off.

“Don’t come any closer!” Steve gasped.

“…Is that-?”

“-ptain America?”

He was recognized in seconds but Steve did not notice. Internally, he was wagering a war with Venom inside his head.

 _Give me the boy!_ Venom screeched inside his mind and tore away at his psyche with its sharp claws.

“No,” Steve gasped aloud to the symbiote. He clutched his head and gasped, “Just give me more time! Let me find the food, _please_!”

Bucky stood, pushed back his hood, and yelled, “EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE!” The civilians transferred their looks of shock from Steve to Bucky and a few had took out their phones to take some pictures. Bucky snarled then tore a gun from its hidden holster under his arm and shot the ceiling a few times.

The civilians screamed and began to run away. The Avengers ran forward against the tide, Peter included.

“GET HIM AWAY FROM ME!” Steve screamed and wildly kicked his legs to push himself away from his son.

The resulting expression on Peter’s face was heartbreaking and he stumbled to a stop. It was just what he wanted but it destroyed him to hurt his son. It had to be done. He had to protect Peter.

Bucky heeded his words and sprinted over to Peter. He picked up the boy from behind around the waist and Peter’s eyes widened with surprise. His shock gave way in seconds and he kicked wildly at the air and demanded, “LET ME GO! LET ME HELP HIM!”

Bucky ignore Peter’s pleas and began to drag him away.

Venom roared in fury and exploded in a giant mass around Steve. Everyone, Steve included, stared at the mass in shock. Seconds later, it shrunk onto Steve’s form and whatever form of control he had was lost.

Venom was back in control and it focused its white eyes on its prey.

Peter stared back freezing in Bucky’s hold, and trying and failing to look brave.

“ _One_ ,” Venom hissed in promise to Peter, its long tongue licking its sharp teeth as it did.

Venom surged forward with a shriek and Peter flinched back into Bucky’s arms as Tony screamed, “NOW JARVIS!”

The same high-pitched alarm that had first incapacitated the symbiote, rang over the hospital’s speakers. Venom immediately faltered and fell. Like it had with Peter, the symbiote stayed attached to Steve but broke away from him in tendrils. Because of their connection, the alarm was more painful to Steve and he covered his ears to try to muffle the sound.

At this point, all the civilians gone and Bucky tucked Peter into his chest, stepping away from Steve as he did. He spared Steve one last desolate look then ran, disappearing behind the double swinging doors to the main hub of the hospital, leaving just Steve, his teammates, and the symbiote alone in the huge room.

He was relieved Peter was gone but…at the same time, he wanted to badly wanted to hold his child, after all this pain and suffering, he had been gone for weeks without his boy and he missed him desperately. Was it too much to ask for a single minute of peace?

The painful ringing in his ear was a constant reminder that it was in no way possible.

Tony ran back to his side and yelled, “We have a transport van with the same alarm playing waiting outside! Can you stand?”

Before Steve sound formulate a reply, Venom lashed out and hit Tony with one of its tendrils. Tony went flying across the room but Thor jumped into his path and caught him before the already injured man could be hurt more.

“Just take Peter away from here!” Steve gritted between clenched teeth.

Tony flailed his limbs wildly as he escaped Thor’s hold and yelled to Steve, “I am not leaving without you!!”

Steve had hoped with Peter’s disappearance Venom might calm but it seemed to only agitate the symbiote further.

Black tendrils began to wildly hit the ceiling, looking for the speakers to destroy them just as the symbiote had done with Peter. Steve could clearly read Venom’s intentions. The symbiote planned to destroy the speakers, keep control, eat whatever Avenger it could get its hands on, and then hunt Peter down to the ends of the Earth.

Tony returned to his side and Steve’s eyes snapped to him. Steve hissed, “Kill me or it _will_ kill Peter.”

A horrified look of desolation fell upon Steve’s husband. Tony took a step back as if to escape Steve’s plea.

“I-I can’t,” Tony gasped.

“DO IT!” Steve yelled, his voice sounding as wretched and broken as his heart. He did not want to die. He could not ask this of his husband but – _it was their only option_. Nothing could stop Venom.

Venom broke one of the speakers and gained strength from the lower volume.

“I’ll do it,” Mary stated as she stepped forward, unsteadily from her limp.

Tony rounded on her and grabbed her collar. He screamed, “You stay away from my husband!”

Mary easily pushed his hands aside and hissed, “You told me to protect that boy until the end of my existence so I am going to do just that! I have a self-destruct bomb within my core large enough to vaporize Venom along with me!”

“I told you to protect his happiness!” Tony rebuked.

“He cannot be happy without being alive,” Mary stated. “This is Peter’s only chance.”

“I will not let you kill him!” Tony growled, surging back to the android as if to put up a fight.

“As your leader I command you to retreat!” Steve yelled to everyone. His friends looked to Steve with torn expressions. Tony froze and looked at him as if he had maliciously shot him point blank. “Follow my last command and protect Peter. _This might be our last chance to stop Venom_.”

Natasha was the first to move. Her first few steps were obviously forced as she did not want to take them but as she started moving, she started gaining momentum. She walked with purpose and hit Tony on the neck with a light jab and Tony’s eyes rolled into the back of his head and he slumped forward. Natasha caught him then slung him over her shoulder like Bucky had done with Peter. Natasha had tears falling from her eyes and she turned to Steve and she nodded curtly to him.

Steve nodded unable to voice his goodbyes. The rest of the team followed her lead and all stood together and presented Steve with saddened but honorable looks then quickly left before Venom was totally able to regain control.

As Natasha carried Tony away, Steve heard him begin to wake. Despite the ringing of the alarm, he heard Tony start to moan which quickly evolved as he fully awaked and he began to scream Steve’s name. Steve curled his fingers tightly around the shell of his ears to block out the sound.

When they were gone, he felt hollow and alone.

Venom wildly hit Mary as she approached him but she used her manufactured strength to surge through the tide of tendrils and sat by Steve’s side. She reached out and grasped his hand and he held it tightly.

He was afraid.

He wanted to save his son but he still feared death. He closed his eyes tightly and was struck with the memory of his near-death experience in the artic decades prior. He shuddered as he remembered his muscles hardening and freezing and that icy water burning his insides as it filled his lungs. It had been slow and torturous.

He knew Mary’s exploding would be quick but his entire being was rejecting the notion of his life coming to an end. He thought of Tony, of Peter, and the rest of his family. His heart constricted painfully in his chest and he wanted to hold all of them at once and never let them go.

“Do—,” Steve gritted his teeth as the alarm continued to pain his ears. He gasped in question to the robot, “…Do you think heaven is real? Will my Ma and the real Mary be waiting for me?”

“Upon my creation, I would have said it was ridiculous,” Mary replied evenly and Steve opened his eyes to meet her gaze. Her face held no emotion but her gaze revealed a desolate continence.

“A-And now?” Steve gasped. What would this machine, blessed by emotions, but ruled by logic say? Would she ridicule his beliefs…his hopes?

“…If a machine can learn to love a boy as her own then maybe there is such a thing as a soul…maybe I have one too and there is a heaven waiting for me too…” Her gaze flickered and her mouth twitched into a small smile as if she found what she said funny. Mary looked back to him, looking more human than most people he knew, and asked, “Are you ready?”

Steve tightened his hold on her hand and heard the gears beneath the artificial skin moan with distress. Mary smirked grimly and Steve commanded, “Jarvis, stop the noise.”

Jarvis did as he ordered and as soon as the sound stopped, Venom’s tendrils raced back to rejoin Steve.

Steve closed his eyes and pictured Tony holding Peter as a toddler. The older man was smiling warmly at their son and it was one of the most fondest of his memories he had of the two together.

The image lasts only a few seconds, Steve felt a flash of burning pain, and then…nothing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The final chapter shall be up next week and the emotional turmoil will finally come to an end!  
> Thanks for reading! :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is twice as long as my usual chapters and is filled with thrice as many feels! 
> 
> I've been wanting to draw at least one picture for this series and I'm finally getting one out with the last chapter! But the chapter won't display the picture so, if you want to see it, here's a [link](http://il0vsuperman.tumblr.com/post/117396878793/my-drawing-of-tony-and-peter-for-my-superfamily) .
> 
> This chapter is the darkest out of them all and there are trigger warnings for depression and loss...
> 
> The first scene in this chapter is the same memory Steve reflected on in the last moment of the prior chapter. It takes place not long after the events in Warm (part three), before Steve and Tony got married and Peter was still a toddler.

"You created a masterpiece," Tony whispered as he stared lovingly at the toddler in his arms. Steve put down his sketchbook and stared at both of them. His love for both of them was so overwhelming that he could barely breathe.

How could he be so lucky? To have Peter and to be able to date Tony? Never in his wildest dreams did he imagine his world would equate to this miraculous life.

Peter snuggled closer into Tony’s chest and his boyfriend looked excitedly at Steve. He whispered animatedly, “Did you see that??”

Steve nodded with a blissful grin and Tony’s eyes fell back down to Peter in wonder.

Steve was tempted to jump to his feet and embrace them both but he did not act on the impulse. This was Tony’s moment with Peter. His son had never fallen asleep in Tony’s arms before and Tony’s excitement was incredible.

Tony stepped closer to Steve and looked down at him with a wily grin. Steve smiled back and was so filled with emotion that he murmured, “I love you.”

Tony’s smile widened and he whispered, “I’ll never get tired of hearing that.” He leaned down and Steve stretched his neck to accept the quick peck on the lips from Tony. Tony replied in a hushed but devoted voice, “I love you too.”

Steve leaned back on the couch and Tony carefully sat down beside him, cradling Peter like he was the most precious item in the entire universe. He leaned into Steve’s side and they both stared down at the precious boy in Tony’s arms.

“I love both of you so much,” Tony confessed, voicing for the first time his affection for Peter.

Steve leaned into Tony and whispered into his ear, “And we both love you too.”

“You think so?” Tony asked breathlessly, staring down at the toddler with awe. He obviously did not believe the evident truth.

“I know so,” Steve replied and Tony awarded him with one of the happiest smiles he had ever seen to split the man’s face. It was powerful enough to make Steve feel like he had fallen in love with Tony all over again.

\---

Peter was there when the android in the guise of his mother exploded.

He felt the building shudder and it had rocked him to the very pit of his stomach.

Dad had been screaming over Uncle Bucky’s communicator moments before the explosion and his yells had been filled with desperation and horror that made Peter’s blood run cold. But with the explosion, his father’s screams fell silent and it unnerved Peter more.

Uncle Bucky also looked disturbed by the silence but he running until Aunt Tasha stated something grimly in Russian. She did not use English, knowing Peter might overhear, but Peter could clearly make out Pops’ name in her message. Uncle Bucky collapsed upon her message and they skid several feet across the linoleum floor.

Uncle Bucky made a strangled noise in his throat, which sounded like he tried to smother a sob and scream simultaneously. He looked at Peter as Peter pushed himself up and Peter knew something horrible had happened. Uncle Bucky sat up with him and his hands trembled as he gently grasped Peter’s arms. With a fragmented expression, displaying all his upset and barely held together psyche, Uncle Bucky gasped, “P-Peter…your – Pops, he’s –.”

Peter broke away from his uncle before he could hear another word. He ran blindly away from him. He would not let himself think about what anything that happened in the last few minutes could mean. He ran toward the source of the explosion only thinking of Pops and reaching him.

The closer he got to the explosion, the more crowded the halls became. People were screaming and fire alarms were blaring, making it hard to hear anything. He knew he was close when he smelt the smoke and he quickened his pace.

He saw Uncle Clint before the archer saw him and did not let his stride falter. Uncle Clint’s eyes widened in alarm when he spotted him and he yelled, “PETER STOP!”

Peter ignored him and his uncle tried to jump in his way but Peter jumped even higher and flew right over him. He followed his nose to the center of the blast and ignored his uncle’s cries.

From out of nowhere, Aunt Tasha pounced on him before he could push through the blackened doors to the ER waiting room. Peter struggled against her hold and screamed out to his father, “ _POPS_? _POPS_?!”

“I’m sorry, Peter,” his aunt gasped, her voice contorted with a pain he never heard her express before.

Beyond the doors, he could hear his dad. He knew it was his dad, he recognized his voice, but he had never once heard him make such noises. What had happened?? What was wrong??

Peter could not fathom the impossible so he yelled out desperately to his father again, “ _POPS_??? PLEASE POPS!”

He had to hear Pops’ voice, just one word, and he would gladly let the others drag him away. He just had to be sure – he just had to know that what his mind had determined was not true! It couldn’t be true!

A SHIELD agent, probably checking to see what all the noise was about, opened the doors to the waiting room and peered questionably at them and his aunt cursed under her breath. Peter ignored the man and looked beyond him into the room.

The room was in shatters and the waiting room metal chairs were in a tangled mess spread out unevenly along the perimeter of the room. The once white-grey tiles were stained black and a fine layer of smoke hovered in the air.

His dad was sitting on the ground, not a few feet from the door, like he had run in and collapsed. He was being held up by Uncle Bruce and was sobbing uncontrollably into his shoulder.

Peter’s eyes slowly spanned from his adopted father and to the spot he knew his birthfather to be minutes earlier. His mind could not comprehend what it was looking at, at first.

Pops was indestructible. He had survived being frozen in the artic for 70 years and no villain had ever been able to best him.

So, Peter easily reasoned, the mass of blackened flesh could not be Pops.

“Where’s Pops?” Peter demanded, “Where is he??”

The SHIELD agent’s face went white and he looked from Peter to the remains of the burnt body. He stuttered a mortified apology and quickly slipped back into the room, closing the door.

He could still hear Dad’s sobs through the sealed door. The depth of his pain was so great that his cries sounded inhuman and it made Peter want to cry with him.

Aunt Tasha gathered him close and buried her face into his back and whispered, “He’s gone, Peter.”

“No, he can’t be,” Peter desperately gasped as the image of the burned corpse seared itself into his mind.

“He did it to save you,” she whispered and Peter’s resolve crumbled.

Peter gasped, “B-But I was going to save him…” He turned in Aunt Tasha’s arms and looked for the truth in her eyes. When he saw her naked despair, Peter repeated, “ _But I was going to save him_.”

\---

Tony always assumed he would be the first to die. He was older and he was a normal human with no healing factor. He had no spectacular talents or superpowers other than his suits so he was more likely to die in battle. The odds were stacked against him when compared to Steve and he accepted this fact. In some sick, twisted way, he was happy about it. He could not fathom burying his husband.

But there he was, staring at Steve’s casket.

This had to be some sort of horrible nightmare. Any moment now, he was going to wake up and turn to see Steve sleeping soundly beside him. Tony closed his eyes and pictured the last time he and Steve shared at bed. The image of Steve’s strong shoulders, bathed in the blue glow of his reactor instantly came to him. He focused on the image, making it real, and then snapped open his eyes. Instead of Steve’s back, his gaze was only met with the sight of his husband’s coffin.

Tony stared starkly at it then anger surged within him at the injustice and he punched the metal lid with all of his strength. He hissed, “You _bastard_! How dare you leave me?!”

His legs shook and he fell to his knees. His anger gave way to despair again and he pressed his face into the coffin, begging, “Wake me up, Steve. _Please_. You woke me from all my other nightmares, please take me out of this one…” Tony waited and hoped against hope…but Steve did not wake him, because Tony was not asleep, and what remained of Steve was laying only a few inches away, sealed away in his eternal rest.

Tony blinked open his heavy eyelashes, weighted down by his tears. He stared at the spot where he lightly caressed the coffin and his eyes focused on his wedding ring. Memories flooded him from their wedding: Steve slipping the ring on his finger, throughout the wedding Steve pulling his hand up to kiss the band, and feeling the metal cut into his skin as he gripped Steve tightly as they made love that night. When they got married Tony thought he was going to spend the rest of his life with Steve.

With his breath constricting at the painful, unattainable truth of his words, he gasped, “I wanted to grow old with you…”

Outside the church, the clangor of the world was loud as news outlets from all around the planet set up their equipment to let everyone say goodbye to the Captain one last time. It was predicted that this was going to beat all the records and become one of the most watched things in history.

None of it mattered to Tony because his heart had been torn out of his chest and was going to be buried in the casket with his husband.

They had a private ceremony with only close friends and family before the main one for the rest of the world. There was maybe three dozen people there and everyone spoke at the podium about Steve.

Tony spoke first and was going to mention some fond memories he had of his late husband. He envisioned sharing them and maybe crying a little but, mostly, he hoped to be able to share with their friends what Steve meant to him…He started off with how they first met and how he thought Steve to be a stuck-up jerk which drew a few chuckles from the gathered company and a small smile to Tony’s lips. He moved on and talked about befriending and eventually falling in love with the super soldier.

“—and he was so strong…so stro—.” The speech he had prepared slipped from his mind like leaves to the wind and he stared starkly at the people before him.

It was that strength Tony had been relying on to sleep without nightmares, to have faith when fighting the seemingly undefeatable villains, or needed when comforting their broken son…Tony’s entire being had become engrained with Steve’s. Steve’s strength was Tony’s and now Tony, once hailed as Time magazine’s Man of the Year, felt as helpless as a newborn babe. His strength was gone. It was another thing that had died with Steve.

His composure was lost with his words and tears began to fall from his eyes. Everyone he cared about was still watching him and were witnessing his break. Tony avoided their looks of pity and gasped painfully, “Excuse me –.”

Tony stumbled off the stage with his hand raised to his mouth to stifle any sobs that might escape. Pepper rushed up to meet him and grabbed him, taking on the majority of his weight.

“It’s alright to cry, Tony,” she whispered with a voice pinched with pain.

Tony greedily accepted her permission and lay his head on her shoulder as he unleashed all his tears. Pepper led him back to his seat and he leaned on her as the others stepped up to the podium to talk about how great Steve was.

Peter sat rigidly beside Tony. His eyes were locked on the podium and tears fell unhindered down his face. His tiny hand latched onto Tony’s as soon as he sat down and held him in a painfully tight grip. On Peter’s other side sat Ben Parker. The older man was also crying but continuously rubbing Peter’s back to offer some semblance of comfort. In Peter’s other hand, he gently held Steve’s sole remaining dog-tag. He had not let it go since his father’s death and had yet to speak since then…

Tony wept unabashed in front of his friends and family. There was no need for proper public decorum with them and he was eternally grateful for it. Eventually, he calmed down enough and listened to the rest of the accounts. His tears never stopped but he laughed at the silly stories and barely breathed whenever someone spoke of Steve’s bravery. They relieved his life in remembrance. It was gut-wrenching and horrible, but also a step into healing the wound of being ripped apart and the fact that every single person in that room loved Steve made him feel not as alone in this.

In the end, everyone was crying and mourning the loss of something great from their lives. Tony knew Steve would have been just as moved by the ceremony had he been there…

For the main ceremony, Ben took Peter home. Tony wished he could join him but he was Steve’s husband and he needed to be there with him until the very end.

For the press, all the Avengers shared small antidotes about Steve but it was nothing like the personal accounts they shared in the private ceremony but they exulted their friend’s courage and strength all the same.

Tony told Pepper he could speak and he really thought he could. He had assumed he had gone through the worst of it in the private ceremony where the emotions were more raw and true. Yet he was still too emotional and, with tears still running down his face, he stepped up to the podium. Dozens of microphones were attached to the podium and he could barely see over them. Cameras clicked and flashed madly as they captured his grief and immortalized it. To the world, Tony announced, “Steve was a noble hero, an amazing man, a doting father, and a loving husband. Without him, my life…” Tony inhaled deeply as he was overcome with emotion. The world was watching him and he always thought he was used to their prying eyes but he had never been under their scrutiny when his chest was flayed open for all of them to see. Tony felt like all the mechanical eyes of the cameras were stealing more than just his image, but pieces of himself as well. They hallowed him out, taking what little was left.

Tony staggered back and gasped, “M-my life is in shatters…”

He bowed his head and a lump churned up from his gut and lodged in his throat. No more could be said…no more needed to be said.

Tony returned to his seat on stage and buried his face in his hands. World leaders, noble prize winners, and such from around the world came up to speak next but Tony did not listen. They could all go on and on about how great Steve was but no matter how much they said it, it would never bring his husband back.

\---

Peter went through a dark period after Pops’ death. It was filled with self-hate, despair, and grief that burned him to his very core. He refused to talk to anyone at first. It was only after the funeral, after he saw his dad in similar pain, did he reach out to his family and begin to heal.

Living on seemed impossible at first.

In the weeks that followed, Peter went through all the stages of grief. He prayed for his Pops to come back, he screamed at anyone who approached him and blamed them for what happened to Pops, and then he turned it around and blamed himself. His life seemed to be never-ending hurt and anger. His family stood by him the entire time and weathered through the abuse without complaint.

Dad was always there for him and despite going through similar pains. They latched onto each other and shared their in their grief. Somehow, their mutual misery alleviated some of the pain within Peter and made Peter feel closer to Dad than he ever had before.

He found additional support from Uncle Bruce who counselled him through the feelings he did not want to talk to Dad about like what he had gone through with Venom.

The rest of his family was always there for him and were always asking him how he was and what they could do to help.

Eventually, Peter started to feel human again, a sad and weary one, but a functional human all the same…

Seeing Harry again after everything that had transpired was a whole other thing. His best friend was the only one of his friends that knew everything about Peter. So Peter decided that, that factor in their relationship would not change and he asked Uncle Bruce to tell him about Venom. The only thing Peter had requested of his friend was to continue to keep his secrets but, with this new information, he asked Harry to keep this from his father as well. Norman Osborn always knew Peter was Pops’ son and had powers. Mr. Osborn was always lax in the rules concerning his only son but he might just keep his son away if he thought Peter was a threat to him…

Peter let his friend sort the information out for a couple of days before sending him a text to see if he wanted to hang out. After a couple minutes, Harry texted back and said he would be there within the hour.

Harry was brought up to Peter’s room by his dad. Dad was worried but he and Peter already had talked about it so he wordlessly left them alone. Harry stood in Peter’s doorway, staring at Peter with large eyes. Peter stared back, sitting in his bed, still wearing the old shirt of Pops’ he had slept in.

Harry was the first to speak, saying, “Hey.”

Peter smirked, thinking it funny how normal the greeting sounded and replied, “Hi.”

Harry stepped into the room and awkwardly scratched his arm then asked, “How…How’s it going?”

Peter’s smirk twitched wider as the ironies continued. He sarcastically replied, “The world is still spinning…”

Harry winced and said, “Yeah, sorry…”

They shared an awkward silence as they stared at each other, both wondering how to interact with the other. Peter darkly wondered if Harry feared him now. Had he looked online at all the articles and reports about Venom? Venom was reported as a demon from Hell. The monster was vilified as being one of the worst as it was responsible for a number of deaths, Pops included…

When Peter was just starting to wonder if this was a bad idea, Harry asked, “Do you want to play Mario Cart?”

Peter hadn’t played that game, nonetheless any game, since before Venom. He had not done anything normal or what constituted as “fun” in the same amount of time.

He wanted it back desperately.

He wanted to feel more to life than simply living. He felt his eyes heat and his lips trembled and Peter whispered, “Yes. Yes, I would like to very much…”

Harry grinned shyly then crossed the room and pulled him out of bed. His nose wrinkled and he whined, “You stink, Parker.”

“Yeah and your face is ugly,” Peter retorted instantly. He felt shocked by the words. Before Venom they had come to him so easily…he didn’t know he could still do it…

Harry did not notice his surprise and rolled his eyes as he dragged Peter out of the bedroom. He stated, “Let’s make a deal. When I beat you, you have to go take a shower.”

“When?” Peter scoffed, “You know I always beat you at this game!”

“In your dreams,” Harry chided,

He and Harry got into one of their usual competitive banters and whatever tensions there were between them vanished.

Even a demon from Hell could not destroy the friendship he had with Harry. Their bond was eternal and could withstand anything.

Outside of the Tower, the everyday world was surreal. Life easily moved on without Captain America.

People still walked down the street and laughed without a care. Traffic consistently got worse at rush hour. The sun rose and set. Clouds migrated across the sky. The world turned on its axis and Pops rotted in his grave.

It had been over month since Pops was buried and in a couple weeks, Peter was going to turn seven-years-old and a week later he was to go back to school. Such things were bizarre. How could he go back to pretending everything was alright when it wasn’t? Pops was dead. He died to save Peter from Venom, the monster that had nearly killed him and forced him to feast on humans.

His school friends would want to talk about Venom and Captain America’s death. He was supposed to keep his identity a secret from them but how was he going to do that when they would want to talk about such popular topics??

How could he keep a straight face when his friends eventually began to joke about his father’s death?

\---

Tony was halfheartedly tinkering in his lab. His grief was no longer the soul-shattering thing that had debilitated him at Steve’s funeral but, a month later, it was still an omnipresent force that was weighing him down.

Peter seemed to be the only good thing in his life. His son was gaining weight and was starting to eat yogurt with fruit chunks in it. Peter was going to therapy and sorting what happened out but he seemed to take more comfort in talking to Bruce. Bruce made no complaint about not being a therapist like he had done with Tony years prior. The doctor listened to Peter and drew him out of his shell. It was a vast improvement since Peter had refused to speak in the period between Steve’s death and a week after the funeral.

At first, Peter avoided Tony and Tony believed he might have blamed Tony for what happened to Steve. Yet, after the funeral, Peter changed. He latched onto Tony and refused to let go. It was enough to make Tony weep again and he held his son for what felt like hours. From that point on, Peter took comfort in Tony’s nearness and would hold him whenever he was given the chance, Tony happily returned the embraces and held him for as long as he needed.

Tony had yet to sleep in his and Steve’s bed since they last shared it. Instead, he first slept in his workshop then, after the funeral, he slept in Peter’s room. Peter seemed contented by his presence so he easily reasoned he should keep doing it. Every night, Peter buried his face into Tony’s chest, closed eyes that were bathed in the light from Tony’s reactor, and sighed contently.

Peter made his days bearable but, sometimes, looking into the blue eyes, he had inherited from Steve, wretched his heart out of his chest all over again.

The tinkering was a distraction. He had fully upgraded his suit three times but had yet to use it. No one was calling on the Avengers for help. It was like the world collectively agreed to give the team time to grieve.

It drove Tony mad.

He longed for a fight and to hit someone to unleash the pain that was bottled up inside.

When the priority alarm went off, Tony moaned with relief. He stood, dropped the materials he was working with, and jumped over to his suit.

“ _Finally_ ,” he gasped. “Jarvis, what is it?”

“The sensors you had placed on Master Roger’s coffin have activated,” Jarvis stated and Tony froze.

Steve was the world’s perfect super soldier and scientists still vied for a sample to study. Upon his death, he had been sent several communications asking to donate the remainder of his husband’s body to science from both reputable and unreputable sources. He destroyed every single message. He knew it was a very good possibility that someone would be desperate enough to dig up Steve but he could not believe they had done it _just a month_ since the burial.

“Jarvis,” Tony growled. “Tell the rest of the Avengers it was a false alarm and the alarm was made by me messing with the system. I want to meet this scumbag by myself.”

“Yes, Sir,” Jarvis replied and the alarm immediately stopped blaring.

Tony stepped into his suit with a grim expression and his sorrow burned away in his fury. Whoever disturbed Steve’s grave was not going to live to see another day.

\---

Steve Roger’s coffin was constructed with military grade metal and had been sealed with an airtight lock. The outside was a fortress but the inside was inlaid with the most expensive and softest silks available. The silks cushioned the walls of the coffin and a silken, red shroud had been wrapped around Steve’s remains. His infamous shield lay on his chest reminiscent to the same kind of rights given to warriors of old, like he could carry it with him in his next life.

What little dust was in the coffin had settled in a fine layer over the silks and shield. It would have stayed if not for the slight tremor that ran through the casket.

The dust rose into the air and floated above the body as if deciding whether or not to return to it. The air was thin and stale with age, made more so by the lack of oxygen.

His comatose state came to an abrupt halt when the last of the oxygen was used up and his body had to wake him before he was ready or risk dying again.

Steve woke gasping trying to fill his lungs with something more but every inhalation made it worse. His lungs filled with air but it was like he was sucking on a tiny straw getting barely anything. He ripped the shroud off his face and dust coated his throat, making it worse.

He was in complete darkness, laying on silky material, and enclosed within a tight space. It took him only a few seconds to realize it was a coffin.

He did not pause to wonder what happened or gloss over his memories. There was no air in the enclosed space and he could already feel his mind beginning to grow fuzzy. He needed to act fast before he fell unconscious.

His shield was with him, sitting on his chest, so he slid his arms into the straps and pushed up. The casket easily broke once he put all his strength behind it and dirt poured down on him from above.

He pushed up, ironically recalling watching a similar scene from a movie he had watched with Tony. The blonde woman had been buried alive to suffer an agonizing death yet, in Steve’s case, it seemed he had been buried dead only to come back to life. Like the woman from the movie, Steve pushed through the crumbling earth and then exploded from the surface.

He inhaled the cold air in deep, hyperventilating breaths. It was the middle of the night and the cemetery was devoid of any other living beings. Steve was still buried waist deep but he fell forward, still gasping for breath, but unable to hold himself up anymore.

As more oxygen got into his blood, he was able to think clearer and Steve started to remember what had happened. Peter…Venom…Mary…they all came back to him and, in his last moments, he remembered a second of pain and then nothing…

Steve pushed himself up and peered down at himself. He was naked and his skin was the same ugly red and pink mesh from when he was last burned badly yet this time it seemed to cover his entire body. His flesh was tender and hurt but he easily ignored it in favor of the shock of coming back to life…again.

“Fire or ice…I guess you can’t stop me,” Steve gasped in wonder. He ran his hand over his scalp and felt the stubble of new growth.

How much of his body had been left after the explosion? By the lack of a tux, he guessed there was not enough for an open casket. It seemed he was more indestructible than he ever thought possible. How much of his remains were needed for his healing factor to work?? Could he ever die? The last thought was extremely unnerving but he pushed it away to mull over for another day.

He had his shield, for which he was thankful for. He had given it to Coulson but he could easily imagine the agent giving up the rare shield without a second thought. Now if only he had thought to leave him his uniform as well… He pulled himself out of the ground and frowned at his nudity. Even with the shield, no one would believe he was Steve Rogers. SHIELD could not hide his death from the world at large and he knew his death had to have been a highly publicized event. He would be arrested for public nudity and probably be sent to a mental institution for claiming to be Steve Rogers, back from the dead…

He glanced around him and grimly noted the fine layer of grass growing over his grave. A lot of time must have passed since he was laid to rest. His thoughts immediately turned to his husband and son. He could not imagine the pain they had been through. Just thinking of losing either one of them was horrifying. He had to find them! He had to let them know he was fine!

But he needed to find clothes before someone found him running around naked.

Steve scanned the graveyard and his eyes fell on the caretaker’s hut.

“That might work…” Steve mumbled and jogged over to the small building.

Breaking in was easy enough. One hit with the edge of shield was enough to knock the lock and doorknob clear off the door. The door swung open and Steve sighed deeply with relief and dropped his shoulders.

The caretaker had a long raincoat hanging on the opposite wall.

Steve stepped inside and slid off his shield to put on the coat. It was too small for him but it made him measurably decent. It was tight around the shoulders and could not seal across the expanse of his chest. His waist was small enough that it could wrap around it and hide the important bits at least. Last, but not least, he slipped his shield back on his arm. He frowned as his eyes focused on his left hand. His wedding ring was gone. Tony had it made especially for him out of Vibranium. It was one of a kind. He hoped his husband still had it because he would hate to lose it.

Steve glanced around the room to see if there was a computer or phone he could use to contact his family but he was not so fortunate with this factor.

All Steve needed to do was find a payphone and type in a certain number which would connect him directly to Jarvis and from there he would be able to reunite with his family.

Steve smiled warmly as he thought of them. Venom was gone and they had all gotten out of it alive.

Without any warning, bullets shattered the windows to the caretaker’s shed and Steve dove to the ground. He covered himself the best he could with his shield and waited for an end to the onslaught.

When the bullets stopped Steve cautiously peeked out from behind his shield and darkly wondered what sort of villain stalked his grave, waiting to kill him again.

“I know you are in there I can read your heat signature,” Iron Man’s grainy voice growled and Steve’s heart leapt in his throat. Steve pushed himself up and went to the door as Tony yelled, “Come out now and give up my husband’s body or so help me I will—I will…”

Tony’s voice dwindled to a halt as Steve stepped outside.

Iron Man floated several feet above the ground and had his arm pointed at the door with a small gun sticking out of it. Tony slowly lowered his arm and the gun sealed away into the armor like it was never there. Iron Man floated to the ground and Tony’s face shield popped open. His husband’s mouth hung slack with shock and his eyes were wide and glistened as disbelief and hope warred within his gaze.

Tony gasped desperately, “ _Steve_?”

“I think you were a little preemptive in burying me,” Steve teased and joyous tears began to fall unchecked from his eyes.

The suit opened up and Tony threw himself from it and ran into Steve’s arms. He slammed his mouth into Steve’s and Steve swallowed Tony’s exultant sob.

Tony rained kisses all over Steve’s face and cried, “Please tell me this isn’t a dream! I can’t go on if this isn’t real!”

His face grew wet from his husband’s tears and equally wet kisses. Steve tightened his arms around Tony and gasped, “It’s real. I’m alive – I love you _so_ _much,_ Tony. I’m sorry to have done that to you!”

Tony tried to properly kiss his lips back but he was sobbing too heavily and Steve was holding up all his weight. Steve rocked him gently and kept whispering apologies into his scalp. To Steve, it seemed like only half an hour ago he had last seen Tony but, to his husband, so much more time had passed and, in that time, he thought Steve dead. Steve’s heart went out to him and he wanted to hold and comfort his husband’s trembling form for eternity.

Eventually, Tony caught his breath and he pushed himself out of Steve’s arms and angrily yelled, “YOU WERE DEAD!”

Steve winced and said, “For a little while…at least it wasn’t seventy years this time?” He tried to make a joke but it seemed to have backfired as Tony’s eyes narrowed.

Tony stepped up to him menacingly and hissed, “Y-You were dead. You know that means that everything you owned is now mine! _AND_ _PETER_! The State sees me as his sole guardian! Can you imagine all the legalities we are going to go through to bring you back to life and be his guardian _again_?? And you technically are not even my husband anymore!! Till death do us part! You died!! We’re going to have to get married _again_ and Pepper is going to make us go through the ridiculous ceremony _again_! And now I am going to have to come up with new vows _again_!”

Steve laughed, drawing a smile to Tony’s lips and stopping his tirade. The older man grinned sincerely and whispered, “I thought I was going to never hear that beautiful sound again…”

Steve reached out and caressed Tony’s stubbled cheek. He whispered, “I’m glad to disappoint you.”

Tony smiled and tears began to fall from his eyes again as he honestly gasped, “You being alive is the farthest thing from being a disappointment.”

Steve cupped Tony’s face and kissed him again. He held his face lovingly and kissed his lips tenderly and softly. He continued until Tony’s relaxed beneath him and he started to cry again. His tears were not from despair or anger but from joy. Steve found himself emulating Tony and hot, happy tears fell from his own eyes and both of them found each other unable to kiss anymore because they could not break their smiles.

\---

Tony flew them back to his lab and as soon as they were in the building, Tony jumped from his suit and threw himself back into the arms his newly dubbed fiancé.

He could not stop kissing him. Steve tasted of dirt and dust but he was warm, he was there, he was not a dream, and he was _alive_.

They should have gone straight to Peter and informed the rest of the team but as soon as Steve’s lips moved against his he lost all rational thought. But who could blame him? Tony never thought he would kiss this man again and being able to do it simple blew all form of intelligence from his mind.

Tony ripped the ridiculous raincoat off Steve and pushed him onto the couch. He made quick work of his own clothes and he slid his naked body against Steve’s with a loud moan.

“ _God_ ,” Tony gasped. “I never thought we would do this again.”

Steve bit down on his bottom lip as Tony’s tongue traced a path down the sensitive hollow to his neck then gasped, “Please tell me you did not throw out the lube.”

“No, thank God,” Tony hissed and rutted his body against Steve, causing the blond to throw back his head with a mighty groan. Tony reached under the couch, where they had hidden the lube from Peter and buried his face in Steve’s neck nipping playfully at the flesh as he did. Steve wrapped his arms around Tony then stiffened. Tony paused just as his fingers brushed against the container then he pushed himself up and looked questionably at Steve.

All the lust was gone from Steve’s eyes and he was looking around the lab with concern. Tony sat up on Steve’s lap and Steve sat up with him, looking sadly at the wall above the couch.

“…What happened in here?” Steve asked breathlessly.

Tony winced and whispered, “I thought you were dead…”

Steve carefully reached out and touched the spot where a picture of the team once hung. The wall, once covered with pictures, was bare, with the exception of a few leftover nails. Steve turned back to Tony, his eyes filled with pity, and whispered, “ _Tony_ …”

“I fell apart without you,” Tony confessed. “If it weren’t for Peter I probably wouldn’t have survived it…”

Steve peered sadly at Tony. Tony felt totally exposed with both his body and heart out on display for Steve. He could easily destroy him with the wrong words.

Steve cupped his face and promised, “I’m here. I’m never going to leave you again…neither of you.”

Tears were falling from his eyes again but he was so used to doing it he did not even notice it. He nodded madly to Steve’s statement and Steve drew him into his embrace.

“We can continue this later…” Steve whispered in his ear. “I need to get some clothes and then we should find Peter.”

“Your closet down here is still full,” Tony stated wetly and as Steve pulled back he smiled sadly at Tony.

“I didn’t realize you were so sentimental,” Steve whispered.

“More like I was too lazy and Dummy has yet to master doorknobs,” Tony sarcastically said with a roll of his eyes. Steve chuckled and Tony’s already mending broken heart pulsed with another beat of warmth.

Tony cupped his face and whispered, “Let’s find Peter.”

\---

Peter was laying on the couch in his aunt and uncle’s apartment. His eyes were focused on the television but he was not following the story. Harry was over yesterday and Peter had felt a little like his old self but today he felt subdued. The excitement of seeing his friend had drained him and he was feeling melancholy again.

Aunt Tasha ran her hand over Peter’s head as she passed him then squeezed onto the armchair with Uncle Bucky.

“There’s no room,” Uncle Bucky grumbled.

“Shush, James. Where there’s a will, there’s a way,” Aunt Tasha chided. Peter glanced at the couple and saw a small smile grace his uncle’s face. Uncle Bucky had been crushed by his father’s death but Aunt Tasha was bringing him back from the brink.

Peter smiled to himself as he thought of Dad, Uncle Bruce, and Harry. A ray of hope cut through his depression as he remembered that the three of them were instrumental in bringing Peter back as well.

Peter always stayed with one of the Avengers while his dad toiled away in the lab. They never left Peter alone anymore, before Venom he would have complained about being babied, now he was thankful for it. He hated being alone. The silence was the worst.

They heard the elevator doors click open in the other room and Natasha murmured to Peter, “That must be your dad.”

Peter quickly sat up and nearly ran out of the room. His dad had been pulling all-nighters in the lab and Peter felt like he had barely seen him the last fewdays. He felt uneasy when he was not around for long periods and irrationally feared losing him too.

Peter reached the door, looked at the two figures stepping out of the elevator, and his brain short-circuited. Peter’s legs gave out beneath him and absolute shock numbed all his senses.

“Peter!” Uncle Bucky gasped and his aunt and uncle scrambled out of their recliner.

Before the couple reached him, however, Pops got to him first and enfolded him into his strong arms.

Pops’ voice trembled with emotion as he stated, “Hey, Petey.”

Peter was totally frozen in his arms and the gears in his mind had halted to a stop.

Pops rubbed his face into Peter’s hair and gasped, “You’ve gotten so big. How _long_ have I been gone? I’m so sorry to have left you! Please, forgive me! God, look at you! I can’t believe I wasn’t there! _I’m so sorry, Peter._ ”

This could not be real. Peter had to be asleep. That’s right. He fell asleep on his aunt and uncle’s couch and was dreaming right now. He was so desperate to see his Pops that his mind had constructed him for him.

“ _Steve_ ,” Uncle Bucky gasped, falling to his knees behind Peter.

Aunt Tasha muffled a sob and then stated in a trembling, nonchalant tone, “…Took you long enough.”

Dad knelt next to Pops and Peter and gathered both of them in his arms. He crushed both of them tighter together in his hold and happily gasped, “Pops is fine. We’re a family again.”

Peter still could not believe it. He gasped into the muscled chest, “Are you another android?”

Was this what Dad was working on in the lab? A replacement for Pops? The very thought made his entire being shudder.

“No, _Peter_ ,” Dad gasped painfully. Dad cupped Peter’s face and when their eyes met he whispered, “I would never do that. I scanned him as soon as I found him. I couldn’t believe it myself! _He’s real_. He’s alive!”

Peter was beginning to shake as his locked up emotions began to swiftly escape and overcome him. Peter locked eyes with Pops. It felt like he was still in some kind of fantasy.

Peter physically pinched himself to confirm the validity of the situation. Upon the flare of pain, his body was flooded with emotion as everything became that much more real.

Pops was alive.

Peter didn’t kill him.

Tears instantly sprung to his eyes and he buried his face into Pops’ chest as he hugged him tightly. Peter wailed, “ _How_? Pops – Pops wh-where have you been?”

“Healing – right where you left me,” Pops murmured gently. He rubbed Peter’s back and kissed the top of his head. “In the morning, it’s going to be all over the news how someone dug up my grave and my body is gone…Oh God, I just realized…How are we going to announce this?” Pops look to Dad in question and the older man grinned.

“Pepper can handle it,” Dad stated, nuzzling his face against Pops’ jaw. “You are _not_ leaving our side for the next week.”

“The next month,” Peter corrected, drawing a chuckle from both his parents and they smiled warmly down at him.

Peter grinned at them and, at that moment, for the first time, in a long, long time, all the depression and pain disappeared. Peter felt safe and _happy_. He nestled his face into his Pops’ chest and listened to his heart beat. He was alive. He was real. He was home…and Peter knew everything was going to be alright.

\---

**Several Years Later…**

“I feel like a stripper,” Peter stated looking down at himself.

“That material is military grade and every square inch cost a couple of grand,” Dad grumbled.

Peter quirked an eyebrow at the older man and corrected himself, “A high-end stripper then.”

Pops choked on his laughter as he tried to smother it behind his hand and Dad’s frown deepened.

“So am I to call you Stripper-Man instead of Spider-Man?” Dad teased and Peter’s face flushed bright red.

“Please do not repeat that or Uncle Clint might actually start doing that,” Peter begged.

He turned back to the mirror as both of his parents chuckled and peered at his costume full on. Peter designed it himself but drawing it and wearing it were two completely different things. He and his dad worked together in making it, using near-indestructible material that Peter just now realized was completely formfitting.

“You’re going to have to wear a jockstrap,” Dad teased and Peter blushed deeply.

“I can see that, _Dad_ ,” Peter retorted and his eyes avoided the noticeable and _detailed_ bulge at the juncture in his thighs.

Harry had demanded to see Spider-Man in person and Peter agreed. His best friend was away at boarding school but they still kept in communication. For once, Harry’s dad was letting him come down for winter break. To his parents, Peter said, “I’m going to need that jockstrap before Harry comes or he is _never_ going to let me live it down.”

Dad fell back into Pops and both men erupted into a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Peter rolled his eyes and murmured, “Real mature, guys…”

His fathers laughed harder and Peter felt a smile tug at his lips.

In the last few years, Peter was beginning to notice his fathers had aged in more ways than one. Physically, they had both changed differently. Dad’s once dark hair was now sprinkled with grey and his wrinkles, which he jokingly called ‘laugh lines,’ had become more pronounced and numerous. Pops had no grey hair but his blond hair had grown lighter as if it had faded with age and was preparing for the greys to come. He also had similar ‘laugh lines’ as Dad. Most noticeably, he had grown pronounced crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes which he was absolutely ecstatic about as it was a sign that he was not immortal despite the number of times he came back to life from mortal injuries.

Both men had been affectionate towards Peter, like most parents, yet, after Venom they ingrained themselves totally into Peter’s life. They had been there for him for the good times, the bad times, and the times he wished he could never remember…It was with their love, they helped him feel human again.

Peter’s eyes went back to his costume and took it all in. To Peter, both of the primary colors had always been representative of his fathers and the morals they taught him which he planned to carry with him as a hero.

The red he had taken from Dad’s Iron Man armor and it mostly was a reminder to Peter of his Dad’s passion: for life, for his work, and for his family. When his dad set his heart to something, he got it done and he got it done right.

The blue was the same blue from Pops’ Captain American uniform. From Pops, Peter learned the hard lesson of sacrifice: the cost it could have on oneself and your family. Pops knew sacrifice was a necessity and it was only with the strength of his heart was he able to carry the burden which it entails.

His eyes focused on the black spider emblem on his chest where the black webs expanded across his body. The black represented Venom and it was a reminder of why he was doing this.

Neither one of his fathers knew what the colors represented to Peter, and he did not plan on telling him anytime in the near future. They probably would have demanded he take the black off. As it was, he had no idea how Pops was going to react to his mask, it took him ages to convince Dad to let him include it in the design.

Peter glanced over his shoulder to where Pops was leaning against the counter and smiling happily at Peter. Dad leaned into Pops’ side with an arm draped behind him on his waist. He met Dad’s eyes for a second and his father nodded him on encouragingly.

Well…Now was better than never…

Peter thumbed the mask in his hand one last time then slipped it on.

Peter closed his eyes as he slid it over his face and he heard Pops inhale sharply behind him. Peter slowly opened his eyes and looked through the circuited fiberglass to meet the reflection of the same white eyes Venom bore when he had Peter under his control.

“Peter –,” Pops gasped. “Th-Those eyes…”

“A lot of people lost their lives when they looked into these eyes. From now on, when people see these eyes, I want it to be in process of saving them,” Peter stated the same argument that won over Dad. He inhaled deeply and said, “I also want these eyes to be the eyes the Goblin sees when he eventually faces me.” The Goblin had resurfaced a few years ago and was trying to get his foot into the criminal empire of New York. The beast was not as bold as he was when he first appeared. The Avengers had yet to face him but they had fought with the beast’s forces and heard its name whispered in fear.

Peter turned to Pops and saw his father was standing and watching him with a concerned expression on his face. Peter stated, “I want this.”

Pops glanced uneasily at his husband and Dad shrugged. Dad said to him, “Pete sprung this on me with his therapist and Bruce was backing him up too. They all agree it is fine…I didn’t like it at first but he—he doesn’t just want this—he needs it.”

Peter nodded and Pops’ brows pinched together.

“…Are you sure, Peter?” Pops reaffirmed.

Peter pulled off his mask so he could meet Pops square in the eye and nodded his consent.

Pops looked to Dad one last time then stepped to Peter with open arms. Pops smiled sadly and said, “Whatever you want, son.”

Peter grinned and launched himself into Pops’ arms.

“You’re going to be a great hero, Peter,” Pops whispered into his ear. Peter grinned and looked past Pops’ shoulder to his other father.

Dad grinned and said proudly, “Welcome to the team.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! All done! :)  
> Thank you to everyone who has read this series, commented, left kudos, or subscribed!  
> I learned a lot from writing this series and it was fun getting feedback!
> 
> As many of you probably noticed, I purposely let Norman escape and get away with what he had done. In my mind, he and Peter will be archenemies. They will share many fights and eventually Peter will discover his identity.  
> I am going to mark this series as complete but maybe one day I will write another fic with Peter as a part of the Avengers and fighting the Goblin but, as of right now, I do not have any kind of plot for that story... Subscribe to me or this series just in case if you're interested (maybe it will happen or maybe it won't, only the future will tell)! ;)
> 
> This series might be done but I am not done writing! I already have two more fics in mind: a Steve/Tony Fake Boyfriends AU called The Cover and a Steve/Bucky Soul mate AU called One Soul. Both I came up with while writing Warm! :3  
> Because of the demands of life, I won't be able to work on these fics for another month or two... But they will come out...EVENTUALLY!
> 
> Once again, thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed the series as much as I enjoyed creating it!


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